Disruption

 

C

This British play by Andrew Stein, which received mostly favorable reviews when it premiered in London three years ago, is now onstage at the Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center. Its main topic could hardly be more timely – the growing influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in our lives. Just in the three years since the play premiered, some of its premises already seem less improbable. I am therefore sorry to report that this dark comedy with such a relevant theme is largely a disappointment. In a nutshell, the plot revolves around three well educated, well-to-do 40-ish New York couples who are summoned to dinner by a former classmate, Nick (John David Washington), who has become a successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur but whom they hold in low regard. We meet Paul (Joe Tippett), a print journalist, and his dutiful but charmless wife Jill (the excellent Elizabeth Stanley), parents of two young boys, whose marriage is very rocky. Next up are Barry (Jason Ralph) and Mia (Irene Sofia Lucio), a surgeon and a photographer respectively, who would like to buy a Brooklyn brownstone that is beyond their means. Just in passing, we learn that Mia, who is Jill’s sister, has slept with all three men. Ben (the versatile Conrad Ricamora), a Columbia professor, and Suzie (Shaunette Renée Wilson) are seemingly the perfect couple who have deliberately decided not to have children, but Ben has a secret. Nick has summoned everyone to tell them about his latest project, an algorithm that can determine what will make someone happy and “curate coincidence” to cause it to happen. He brings along Raven (Emma Kikue), the sexy young Harvard and MIT grad who is the brains behind the algorithm. He assures his friends that the two are merely business partners. At least three quarters of the play is spent showing which of the husbands would take the bait. Tellingly, Nick doesn’t seem to be at all interested in what would make the wives happy. Along the way, Suzie is the person who most strongly stands up against Nick and warns of AI’s downside. When Nick and Raven discover that the algorithm has begun acting independently, Raven implausibly turns against it and is fired. We jump ahead a year to learn how things turn out. This sounds more interesting than it plays. The actors do their best with roles, some of which are underwritten and/or schematic. The direction by Hersh Ellis is sluggish. I knew something was amiss when I realized I was paying more attention to the fascinating permutations of the stage floor than to the dialogue. Rather than the scenic design serving the play, things seemed to me the other way around. Scenic (and costume) designer Zoē Hurwitz, lighting designer Reza Behjat, and projection designer Yana Biryukova provide a feast for the eyes that I found more interesting than the material it is supposed to support. It’s a triumph of style over substance. The imminent disruption of our lives by AI deserves a worthy play. This is not it. Running time: two hours including intermission.