Central Square Theater's 'Beyond Words' captures the bond between a researcher and parrot

What is your life’s work? That’s the question at the heart of “Beyond Words,” a play inspired by Irene Pepperberg, whose work came in the form of an African grey parrot she taught to communicate and solve problems for more than 30 years.

Currently an adjunct research professor at Boston University, Pepperberg’s famous work, initially frowned upon by peers, yielded much more than data; it sparked a deep love and respect between her and her subject, Alex — short for Avian Learning EXperiment.

Alex and Pepperberg’s heartwarming, challenging and fun journey is smartly captured and awesomely rendered in “Beyond Words,” showing through April 14 at Central Square Theater. The play centers on the researcher’s decades-long relationship with Alex, the hardships she faced as a female researcher doing unprecedented work and the sacrifices she made along the way. The narrative is authored by screenwriter and playwright Laura Maria Censabella, who also penned the science-centric play “Paradise” (which premiered in 2017 at Central Square). When Censabella heard Pepperberg’s monologue about her work with Alex on "The Moth Radio Hour," she explained in an interview, she thought it might be fun to write about it.

Bright colored geometric shapes — yellow circles, purple triangles and red half-moons — that used to decorate many a shirt in the 1980s cover the floor of Pepperberg’s lab. Imagined by scenic designer Qingan Zhang, the space is stacked with cardboard boxes, gray metal file cabinets and colorful sticky notes dotting a corkboard, and it’s where much of the action occurs. The combined efforts of the creative team — sound, lighting, movement, costume, props, intimacy and stage management — make this production a delight to watch.

As the years are chronicled, under the excellent direction of Cassie Chapados, it’s clear how much Pepperberg (Stephanie Clayman) must give over to her animal cognition studies. She’s teaching categories and objects and the like to Alex, but it’s tough to get funding and respect, keep the spark in her marriage alive, support her husband’s dreams and stay connected to other humans. She does maintain a deep friendship with Lourdes Acevedo (a wonderful Karina Beleno Carney) despite their differences in their approach to their work. A bit of a battle about playing the game versus fighting the patriarchy between the two is a high point. Both women have valid points of view, and Clayman’s depiction of Pepperberg’s strength and grit shines in this scene.

Actor Jon Vellante, who portrays Alex, is magnificent onstage. Perched on his toes, knees slightly bent, and fingers splayed like claws, Vellante embodies the role with a refreshing zest. Vellante’s Alex is intelligent but demanding, often yelling out his need for a cherry, a banana or a nut when fed up with the tests or just plain hungry. Frequently, when Pepperberg converses with her husband, Rick Pepperberg (Bill Mootos), or has to do other work, Alex can be seen carefully walking into a cage or climbing bars on the side of the stage.

The small but talented cast moves through schools and labs, depicting scientists at conferences and even another bird. But the dynamic Mootos, who switches from the (initially) doting husband to the cringey Howard Towers, is exceptionally engaging. Mootos’ Towers dons a silk-like scarf as a necktie, tinted glasses and is rumored to be a bit of a ladies’ man. Towers studies primates and in the show, his work fails to garner the results he might have hoped for. Nevertheless, he ends up in a position of power and looks down on Pepperberg’s work and her attachment to Alex.

Before Alex’s widely publicized and untimely death, Pepperberg wrote multiple studies and appeared in numerous articles and interviews with Alex. In a lovely moment in the play, Censabella imagines what the now-deceased Alex might have expressed if he could. But no matter how much one studies an animal, there will always be something unknown and wild about it, Clayman’s Pepperberg shares.

What they did share was special. Often the two would engage in a little dance of language while bidding each other farewell, saying “I love you,” “Be good” and “See you tomorrow.”

And maybe, all the words Alex had were enough.

“Beyond Words,” a Catalyst Collaborative@MIT production, shows through April 14 at Central Square Theater.