‘Eureka Day’ by Jonathan Spector. Directed by Margot Bordelon. Scenic Design by Luciana Stecconi; Costume Design by Zoë Sundra; Lighting Design by Cha See; Projection Design by John Horzen & UptownWorks; and Sound Design by Daniela Hart, Noel Nichols, Bailey Trierweiler & UptownWorks. Presented by The Huntington Theatre at 264 Huntington Ave., Boston, through June 28.
By Mike Hoban
There may be no better illustration of the schism between old-school liberals and the modern progressive movement than the opening minutes of the Huntington Theatre’s insightful—and VERY funny—Eureka Day. Before the curtain rises, the audience is greeted by “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing,” the compassionate anthem that embodied the zeitgeist of late-60s and early-70s liberalism. First popularized in an iconic Coke commercial featuring a multicultural choir on an Italian hillside, the non-commercial version of the song became a chart-topping hit for the New Seekers and perfectly captured the era’s lofty ideals.
The curtain goes up, and we fast-forward 50 years to see the sorry devolution of those ideals. The well-intentioned but clueless board members of Eureka Day, a private progressive K-8 elementary school in Berkeley, California, are anal-retentively wrestling with the exhausting level of detail needed to convey the school’s unfailing dedication to ensuring inclusivity—in the admissions form’s dropdown menu. It’s a level of absurdity that is both all-too relatable and maddening to witness, but it’s the driving force at the heart of this terrific comedy-cum-social commentary.
This is the first meeting for Carina (Eunice Woods), the newest addition to the five-member board, and she’s not only representing new parents but is also the sole African American and person of color on the board. Carina’s perplexed reaction to her colleagues’ obsession with details that defy common sense is priceless, as she suppresses eyerolls and the urge to call out the obvious BS. This opening sets the tone for how the group will respond to a legitimate ideological crisis—a mumps outbreak—that will pit board members who favor a science-based approach against an anti-vaccine faction, testing the group’s alleged core values. It’s worth noting that Eureka Day was written in 2018, well before the COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccine controversy that was largely cast as a left-versus-right, Red State versus Blue State vaccine battle. The play doesn’t necessarily take a stance on the topic, but it does present the emotional context for how adherents on both sides form their fiercely held beliefs.
The vaccine debate is merely a springboard for the meatier elements of this remarkable comedy. Eureka Day raises the question: How does one’s virtue signaling measure up in practice against one’s deep-seated core beliefs when things get real? Playwright Jonathan Spector doesn’t hit us over the head with the hypocrisy of some in the progressive movement (typically, the more well-heeled) who unconsciously view inclusion as charitable rather than equitable, but the message is unmistakable. It’s also not a condemnation or an expression of vitriol; just an acknowledgment that most of us are still saddled with bias, no matter how enlightened we believe ourselves to be.
Eureka Day also examines how the unrelenting firehose of the blend of facts and misinformation spewed on social media platforms further befuddles rather than educates, leaving an all-too-large swath of the population unable to form reality-based opinions. In the play’s most explosively hilarious scene, the board attempts to solicit the parents’ opinions on vaccine policy via Zoom, and the disastrous results are comedy gold, as the Zoomers attack each other and the board members with the glee of mean-spirited fifth-graders playing dodgeball. The scene is so rapid-fire and so loaded with punchlines that it should almost be in slow motion to ensure that the audience can digest every comic morsel. There’s also a side story that provides commentary on polyamorous relationships that’s a bit superfluous, but it still manages to make its point.
The cast is fairly solid across the board. Ken Cheeseman embodies the spirit of and looks the part of the ‘60s relic who still embraces the principles of his youth while adapting to the evolution of the revolution. He also steals the show in the Zoom scene as he tries to regain control of a hopelessly out-of-control situation. Nancy Lemenager nails Suzanne’s steely, controlling nature, but also elicits genuine sympathy as she reveals the source of her stance on vaccination. Woods, as the outsider, is the anchor of this production, as she convincingly weathers Suzanne’s not-so-subtle condescension with grace while refusing to budge on her own beliefs. Kudos also to set designer Luciana Stecconi for recreating the “Reading is Fundamental-esque” school library.
Eureka Day is a terrific send-up of the shortcomings of the new progressive movement, which, while annoying at times, certainly beats the hell out of fascism. For more information and tickets, go to: https://www.huntingtontheatre.org/whats-on/eureka-day
