The Memory Of Provides a Moving and Unique Look at the Lives of Friends and Lovers in the Queer Community

Written with poignancy and wit by Rachel Schulte, The Memory Of opens a window into contemporary connections that are familiar and relatable, and at turns both heartbreakingly sad and wonderfully amusing. We are witness to several years in the lives of nine New York friends, from February 2017 to June 2019. The scenes in the present are accompanied by interludes (“memories”) into the past, each giving crucial context to the events now unfolding.

At the center is Renee (Nikki Lyn Neurohr), a painter who is suffering from severe trauma following the shocking death of her girlfriend Brianna (Ria Meer). The suicidal Renee is haunted by the “ghost” of Brianna, who appears regularly to verbally torment her, appearing to intentionally sabotage her recovery. Already suffering from horrific PTSD due to tragic childhood events, Renee is unable to move on, and her ability to create art is stifled. However, to the horror of her friends and protective sister Kyle (a powerful Julie Thaxter-Gourlay), Renee is not sure she wants to be helped—if it means letting go of Brianna and everything that once was. “I know why she stopped going to therapy,” Kyle announces. “She wants to see Brianna.”

Hunter Hopkins Dunn is Renee’s BF Charlie, a writer who has strong feelings for Renee but suffers mostly in silence, helplessly watching the torment of the person she loves but can’t be with. (Morgan, played by Julia Baker, is a friend who comes to know them both intimately, in a way that will lead to climactic consequences later.) Renee is in love with Charlie as well, but is frozen in place, unable to exorcize the spirit of Brianna. “You are living in your own fantasy world,” Charlie challenges Renee. “While the rest of us try to keep up and make sure you don’t kill yourself.”

Her friends desperately try to help her to find a way go on, but no one is exactly certain what that should look like. Should Renee stay in NY to heal with the guidance of her friends while pursuing a life with Charlie? Or should she go back to San Francisco with Kyle to truly start all over?

Heather Abrado is a presence as the grounded, wise Carmen, who observes events through beautifully sung brief musical interludes. Tricia Mancuso Parks is Hannah, owner of the bar that Morgan and many of the friends work or hang out at, who is hoping for a relationship with Kyle despite the latter’s flitting in and out of town. Michael Thibeault and Russ Cusick are Dan and Tyler, there for all the joy and sorrow of their friends, and dealing with their own life stories and unrequited longings. Events reach a peak at a tense dinner party, where each of the friends face their fears, their pasts, and their true feelings for each other. As events transpire one finds themselves not just rooting for Renee’s happiness and safety, but for everyone’s.

There are several twists and turns along the way, one of which shockingly changes everything we have been told and alters the dynamic for the rest of the play. The Memory Of has the unusual effect of starting as an apparent tragedy, then lightening things slowly, and finally re-inventing itself as an uplifting story of true love and connection. The actors inhabit Schulte’s characters so adeptly and genuinely that they truly become a “friend-family” that it is a joy to spend time with.

Trigger Warnings: Suicide, Grief, Mental Illness, Emotional Abuse

The Memory Of is directed with a flourish by Alysia Homminga, with deft lighting design by Lauren Lee. It is presented at the Wild Project as part of the 2024 Fresh Fruit Festival, in Association with The Lipstick Project, LawnChair Theatre Company, and All Out Arts.