Speakeasy’s Absorbing ‘Heroes’ is Guaranteed to Spark Discussion

Elise Piliponis, Karen MacDonald, Jesse Hinson, Dayna Cousins, and Nathan Malin in Heroes of the Fourth Turning. Photos by Nile Scott Studios.

Heroes of the Fourth Turning – Written by Will Arbery; Directed by Marianna Bassham; Set Design by Baron E. Pugh; Costume Design by Rachel Padula Shufelt; Sound Design by Elizabeth Cahill; Lighting Design by Jeff Adelberg. Presented by Speakeasy Stage at the Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont St. Boston through October 8

by Mike Hoban

There’s a lot to unpack in playwright Will Arbery’s Heroes of the Fourth Turning, the thought-provoking political drama now running at Speakeasy Stage. Brilliantly acted by a terrific ensemble, Heroes is billed as a look at “a country at war with itself,” but in truth delves more specifically into the internal divides within the Catholic wing of the Republican party brought on by the election of Donald Trump. Interestingly, the play is set in 2017, two days before the solar eclipse and just one week after the white nationalist riots in Charlottesville – which means that the play pre-dates the 2020 election and the ensuing insurrection at the Capital that led the Republican party to desert their conservative principles in deference to the Big Lie pushed by the former president.

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