A scene from GableStage's production of Jonathan Spector's "Eureka Day" playing through Sunday, June 14 in Coral Gables. (Photo by Magnus Stark, courtesy of GableStage)
Having the best intentions is often virtuous, but Jonathan Spector's stinging satire "Eureka Day" demonstrates what can happen when consensus and inclusivity collide with a crisis. In the age of COVID, that crisis feels all too familiar — an outbreak of disease necessitating vaccines.
Comedy and discomfort combine to create a satisfying brew in Spector's Tony Award-winning Broadway play, which is running at GableStage in a memorable professional production through Sunday, June 14 in the intimate Wolfson Family Theatre next to the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. The running time is one hour and 40 minutes with no intermission.
Stuart Meltzer, the award-winning artistic director of Miami's Zoetic Stage, directs the production's talented cast with a keen ear for comedy, but he also allows pathos-filled scenes to land and move us. In addition, he knows what to emphasize, and when to speed up or slow down a scene.
Ryan Didato and Mark H. Dold get chummy in GableStage's production of "Eureka Day." (Photo by Magnus Stark, courtesy of GableStage)
"Eureka Day" is an incisive and satiric play that takes place during the 2018-19 school year at a hyper-progressive private elementary school in the Berkeley, Calif., area. The school's executive committee values inclusivity and agreement so highly that it makes all of its decisions by consensus. But a mumps outbreak among the student body forces board members to confront their "inclusive" values and make a decision on vaccination, revealing how easily consensus breaks down when facts become subjective and personal biases emerge. Spector's comedy explores performative progressiveness, the challenges of consensus-based decision making, the subjectivity of truth, the conflict between ideology and reality, and how digital discourse can strip communication of empathy and accountability.
The play begins mid conversation, which immediately disorients us. The playwright plunges us into ongoing dialogue, so we try to catch up with what the characters are discussing while also piecing together the situation at hand. Spector primes us for conflict by including the word "offensive" twice in the play's opening exchange.
Spector, whose timely play "Birthright" received its premiere at Miami New Drama last year (and is Off-Broadway bound), is a Tony Award-winning playwright known for transforming highly intellectual, polarizing concepts into deeply human, balance-striking theatrical experiences. In "Eureka Day," he creates layered, well-developed characters who never become types. In fact, the script includes paragraph-length character descriptions that flesh these people out on the page, giving the actors clear backstories that allow them to fully comprehend and inhabit their roles onstage. The performers are effective individually and as a well-oiled ensemble that doesn't just speak, but listens and reacts to one another.
From left, Jordyn Moone, Mark H. Dold and Jeni Hacker. Standing is Rita Cole in GableStage's production of "Eureka Day." (Photo by Magnus Stark, courtesy of GableStage)
Mark H. Dold, a highly respected veteran performer and no stranger to GableStage audiences, plays the head of school, Don, as a cross between a teddy bear and the Energizer Bunny. Speaking at times in a sing-songy voice, Dold's Don evokes an overly enthusiastic teacher of small children fully immersed in his element. He runs, jogs, spins, charms, and pacifies, seemingly blissfully unaware that others might perceive him as silly. Yet he remains sincere throughout, which only heightens the humor. His sudden scream —"That is out of line!"—during a contentious scene is all the more jarring because of his usual gentleness. While Dold delivers a dynamic performance, it remains impressively natural; nothing about it feels forced.
Dold's Don is in nearly perpetual motion, and so is Ryan Didato's Eli, a board member and father of Tobias, one of the school's students stricken with mumps. Didato, an actor with vivid facial expressions, gestures animatedly. When he enters the space, he rushes in like an excited, smart, overly eager student itching to ace an exam for which he's well prepared. At one point, Eli and Don give each other a "high five" as though they're celebrating their favorite team scoring a touchdown. The two also run into a tight embrace, suggesting a close bond between the pair. While Didato's Eli conveys unbridled enthusiasm, the performer is natural and sincere in the role, shifting seamlessly to tenderness and sympathy in other scenes.
In contrast to Don and Eli's vivacity is Rita Cole's measured Carina, a board member new to the school. However, she has worked for housing-related non-profits her entire professional life, so she is used to attending board meetings. It shows in Cole's performance. While she is not always outspoken, she is unafraid to call out the board's ineffectiveness.
Ryan Didato as stay-at-home dad Eli and Jordyn Moone as Meiko in GableStage's production of "Eureka Day." (Photo by Magnus Stark, courtesy of GableStage)
As she has done successfully in past roles, Cole, an award-winning actress, places proper emphasis on key words. From her telling facial expressions, one can tell when Carina is uncomfortable, annoyed, or weary. She does not make eye contact when she is irritated with another character, but her caring gaze turns to board member Suzanne during a particularly emotional moment.
Jordyn Moone plays board member Meiko like a pressure cooker suppressing emotions until they erupt like volcanoes. It is painful to watch and listen as Moone's Meiko, shaking, loud, and in tears, unleashes a lengthy monologue of long-bottled frustrations.
While Jeni Hacker usually portrays board member Suzanne, Sarah Rome Guerra embodied the character during the reviewed performance. Guerra delivers a sincere performance, at times placing her hand on her chest in a gesture that suggests it is personal to her. She lends Suzanne convincing nervous energy and sometimes resorts to sarcasm. Guerra is particularly touching when her character, through believable tears, relates an unimaginably heartbreaking moment from her past that makes us instantly empathize with her. Even if you disagree with her, you understand where she is coming from.
Rita Cole as Carina and Jeni Hacker as earth mother Suzanne in GableStage's production of "Eureka Day." (Photo by Magnus Stark, courtesy of GableStage)
One of the production's most comically chaotic sections comes during what the board calls a "Community Activated Conversation" during the mumps outbreak. The meeting takes place over a Facebook Live-like platform that allows participants to chat in real time while the board tries to keep the discussion focused.
Comments from community members appear on one of the set's walls, allowing us to read them while also listening to the board members. Our eyes are pulled in multiple directions, as though we are watching a hotly contested ping-pong match. The comments exude sarcasm and bitterness. Even as audience members laugh heartily, the meeting continues, lending the proceedings a hectic energy that typifies how courtesy can collapse into bedlam in the age of digital communication. Disorder reigns and we cannot make out words because everyone is talking over each other. But we are not missing anything; the mayhem serves the point of the play. Some of the comments are quite shocking.
"My dog has way more hours in sniffing s--t than Western doctors, that doesn't make him a Proctologist," one commenter exclaims.
Steven Covey's projection design shines in GableStage's production of "Eureka Day." (Photo by Magnus Stark, courtesy of GableStage)
Before the chaos erupts, calm reigns. Scenic designer Frank J. Oliva's detailed, realistic depiction of the "Eureka Day" library, lit realistically by Tony Galaska, reflects order and positivity. Books rest neatly stacked on multiple shelves, clear labels point visitors to different categories, and prominently displayed signs reinforce the school's culture of optimism, activism, and inclusivity. One sign reads, "The world is full of kind people," accented by images of hearts and a rainbow. Elsewhere, signs proclaim "Berkeley Stands United Against Hate" and "We Are the Resistance." The set also includes windows overlooking a body of water, small boats, and trees, suggesting the Bay Area even if recognizable landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge are not clearly visible. The calm view outside stands in stark contrast to the escalating tensions inside.
While the play's conclusion is not a neat or happy ending, the board members remain upbeat, and we are hopeful it is "clear skies and smooth sailing" for them going forward. But then Don says they will "launch together into the 2019/2020 school year," and we cringe knowing what lies ahead. We care about them, largely because Meltzer and his cast have heeded Spector's advice not to fully lean into satire from the outset. Indeed, this cast finds the characters' humanity, which makes them recognizable rather than mere caricatures.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: "Eureka Day" by Jonathan Spector
WHEN: Through June 14. Performances are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Wednesdays and Sundays, plus three Saturday matinees at 2 p.m. on May 30, June 6, and June 13. Pre-show talks take place about a half hour before performances begin.
WHERE: GableStage's Wolfson Family Theatre next to the Biltmore Hotel, 1200 Anastasia Ave. in Coral Gables.
TICKETS: $50-$95. Call (305) 445-1119, email [email protected], or visit www.gablestage.org. Students and teachers may attend any performance free of charge by arriving 45 minutes before curtain and filling any open, unsold seat. Valid ID is required.
