Is it possible to \u201chold space\u201d for everyone?<\/p>\n
The super liberal folks on the Eureka Day School Board in Berkeley seem to believe so. Everyone has a voice that must be valued and respected.<\/p>\n
But what if that voice is promoting anti-scientific beliefs that could lead to unnecessary suffering amongst the dedicated denizens who adore every ounce of this charming school?<\/p>\n
What Oakland playwright Jonathan Spector\u2019s heralded opus \u201cEureka Day\u201d at City Lights Theater Company gets so right is taking a highly-charged issue and loading it with critical nuance. Director Lisa Mallette punches hard into many wonderful details in this sharp satire.<\/p>\n
Folks on all sides of the vaccination debate will find their beliefs challenged inside this terrific and hilarious production. While not every acting performance is sharp and organic, that doesn\u2019t ruin the overall collective effectiveness of the five-person cast.<\/p>\n
The world of the Eureka Day School is exemplified by the three sections of the library, where the entire 105-minute play takes place (that room is designed with lots of bright pastels from Ron Gasparinetti). There\u2019s Fiction, Non-fiction, and Social Justice sections, because for this Berkeleyriffic progressive charmer of a campus, nothing else matters.<\/p>\n
All the important buzzwords kick off the play, immediately beaming the audience into liberal paradise \u2014 inoffensive, inclusion, welcoming, othered. The commitment by the board to give everyone agency is not misguided, but certainly on overkill street; at Eureka Day, all means all.<\/p>\n
Those responsible for setting policy are the dedicated parents, some of who had many kids attend the lovely campus (one is even accused of having more kids just to enroll them at Eureka). There is legacy member Suzanne (Luisa Sermol), who has the sly ability to get her way through not-so-subtle means; Carina (Kimberly Ridgeway), a new board member who does not hesitate to share her thoughts amongst the old guard; Meiko (Kaitlyn Nakanishi), a single mother in her mid-30s with a child and a secret relationship; and Eli (Keenan Flagg), A Stanford-educated parent in an open marriage.<\/p>\n
Finally, there is Don (Marc Anderson Phillips), the childless head of the school who goes out of the way to avoid any conflict, always figuring out opportunities to bring everyone into the big tent.<\/p>\n
The play\u2019s major conflict could be considered genius if Spector had planned 2020\u2019s global pandemic to coincide with the world premiere of his play two years earlier. Yet, the conversations and concerns still feel so familiar and present, especially in a hilarious scene when the board holds a community online meeting while the school is shut down due to a mumps outbreak.<\/p>\n
That scene, in which a Zoom meeting careens off the rails due to the chat feature getting more and more savage as the session progresses, is beautifully written and wonderfully directed, with slick projections designed by Maxwell Bowen and Carl Erez. The hapless Don does his best to get the runaway car on track, the quintet realizing they are in unchartered territory as the anger of the chat becomes more palpable, and more hilarious. With two very distinct things happening, the scene turns into an extended mumps version of the \u201cFugue for Tinhorns.\u201d<\/p>\n
The individual performances feature mostly effective choices. Leading the tight ensemble is Sermol, whose Suzanne pulls off what few people can do in real life \u2014 engage in thoughtful conversation about vaccine skepticism, but in the most soul-crushing way possible. Her extended monologue doesn\u2019t let you forget where you stand if you are pro-vaccination, but at least her character allows for a hint of a different perspective.<\/p>\n
Flagg does terrific work as he faces his own tragedy, staring at a challenging set of preventable circumstances. Don\u2019s skittishness, and his need to make everyone feel welcome, is what Phillips utilizes to build Don\u2019s super powers. As one who presents his Don as something of a well-intentioned gump, notice the heartbreak that Phillips builds for his well-meaning education advocate, and how crestfallen he becomes as inclusion (and a well-timed set of bylaws) means that real decisions must be made.<\/p>\n
What makes \u201cEureka Day\u201d such a brilliant piece is how it advocates for truth, not just kindness. Everyone appreciates one who is kind and lovely, but people likely need honesty more. After all, sometimes just trying mightily not to be offensive might turn out to be the most offensive thing anyone can do.<\/p>\n
David John Ch\u00e1vez is a former chair of the American Theatre Critics\/Journalists Association, a 2020 O\u2019Neill National Critics Institute fellow, and a two-time juror for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (2022-\u201923). @davidjchavez.bsky.social.<\/p>\n
\u2018EUREKA DAY\u2019<\/p>\n
By Jonathan Spector, presented by City Lights Theater Company<\/p>\n
Through: Oct. 18<\/p>\n
Where: 529 S. Second St., San Jose<\/p>\n
Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes, no intermission<\/p>\n