Review: EUREKA DAY at Theater J
Now on stage through April 5 at Theater J is Eureka Day, the award-winning play by Jonathan Spector, in a top-notch production directed by Hayley Finn
Eureka Day, the Tony Award winning play (for best Revival in 2025) by Jonathan Spector, is getting a top-notch production at Theater J directed by Hayley Finn. The play is a timely one, centered around the 5-person parent-principal executive committee at Eureka Day School, a private day school located in an affluent suburb in Northern California. The committee members meet regularly to discuss issues facing the school but find themselves at odds when a number of students contract mumps, and the school needs to consider its vaccination policy. Interestingly, the play was written before both the global Covid epidemic and the more recent measles outbreak among young children, making this prescient work set in the 2018-19 school year an eerie harbinger to the intense divide that would escalate in the U.S. and all over the world over questions regarding vaccination requirements.
Although the issues the play addresses are serious ones, the play is often a very funny one. Eureka Day captures well how the diverse members of the school executive committee painfully attempt to appear to be open-minded and tolerant of others’ views while pushing their own agenda (and facing their own personal challenges). The subtlety and humor involved require a fine ensemble of actors, and this production has that in spades. Susan Rome excels as Suzanne, a long-devoted committee member who displays a wide spectrum of emotion from sweetness to annoying smugness to extreme vulnerability. Renee Elizabeth Wilson as the insightful, new-to-the-school Carina, Jonathan Feuer as the obnoxious and lusty tech millionaire Eli, Eric Hissom as the good-hearted, Rumi-loving principal Don, and Lilli Hokama as free-spirited single mother Meiko, all effectively convey the complexities and humanity of their characters. It is a joy to watch this ensemble in action under the sharp direction of Finn. Spector’s terrific dialogue shines a light on the foibles of these characters while helping us to understand better their varied perspectives, avoiding turning them into “villains” (a goal that Don expresses in respect of the children and families implicated in the play) and allowing us to feel some sympathy amidst occasional frustration.
The humor in the play extends even beyond the core characters. In one uproariously funny scene, the executive committee puts on an online town hall meeting. Thanks to well-executed projections designed by Kelly Coburn, the audience is able to see the scrolling comments of the other parents. The hysterical back-and-forth comments, interspersed with familiar emojis, and combined with the awkward musings and antics of the actors on stage, make for one of the funniest scenes I have seen in the theater in ages.
Scenic Designer, Misha Kachman, has done a wonderful job with the Eureka Day School set, a library filled with books, posters, children’s art and props, anchored by a large painted tree, in front of which most of the action occurs. The set succeeds in making the audience feel immersed in a day school environment. The crisp sound design by Sarah O’Halloran makes it easy to hear all the wonderful dialogue, and I really enjoyed the musical interludes between the scenes. The lighting by Colin K. Bills and costumes by Jeanette Christensen further enrich the production.
Eureka Day provides a smart and humorous commentary on how hard it is to navigate political correctness when the interests of members of a community are not aligned. While the debate between “vaxxers” and “anti-vaxxers” is at the core of the action, the underlying tensions between the characters are broader in scope (e.g., climate change, censorship, racism). The play calls into question the progressive principle that all points of view should be considered equally valid, while at the same time illustrating that each person comes from a unique personal perspective and at some level, they have the right to be heard.
Theater J’s excellent production of Eureka Day gives the DC area the perfect opportunity to see this timely and thought-provoking play that deserves to be seen, enjoyed and discussed.
Eureka Day is playing at Theater J through April 5. Performance run time is approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes without an intermission.
Photo credit: Ryan Maxwell Photography
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