'Marmalade' brings to life the mind of a 4-year-old

Little Lucy, at 4 years old, is not incorrigible, but her narcotic-addled and emotionally abusive imaginary friend is.

Mr. Marmalade , in production at Le Chat Noir, is the story of Lucy, her imaginary friend, Mr. Marmalade, and the ways a child's perceptions can be altered and informed by environment. It's a complex piece that deals in high humor and psychological turmoil.

Though the audience might find absurdity in an imagined companion cutting lines of cocaine on a playroom tea table, the play questions how these acts are conceived by a toddler mind.

"Beneath all the dry humor there is a poignant story," said Krys Bailey, who directs the show and appears as Mr. Marmalade. "It's constructed that way. It's a situation where people laugh first and are embarrassed about laughing second."

The play also finds moments of optimism, most notably in Lucy's relationship with Bradley, Mr. Marmalade's assistant, and Larry, Lucy's best friend and record-holder for the youngest suicide attempt in New Jersey history.

Duane Brown, who plays Larry, said that it's important for the actors to play the situation, but he never really plays his character as a child.

"Because you can never imagine children saying these things, because you don't imagine them in these situations, it never really becomes an issue," he said. "When I read this I always sort of heard it, in my head, in an adult voice."

Reach Steven Uhles at (706) 823-3626 or steven.uhles@augustachronicle.com.