Eureka Day

A-

Eureka Day is the rather aspirational name of the Berkeley private school where this enjoyable, thought-provoking play by Bay Area playwright Jonathan Spector is set. After winning several awards on the West Coast, it has arrived at Walkerspace in SoHo for its New York premiere in a  first-rate Colt Coeur production. We meet the school’s executive committee in the midst of their first meeting of the school year. Headmaster Don (Thomas Jay Ryan; 10 out of 12, The Amateurs) strives to keep the group’s process flowing without offending anyone. Suzanne (Tina Benko; Nantucket Sleighride, Describe the Night) is the strong-willed chair who gives lip service to the equality of group members. Brash Eli (Brian Wiles) rarely lets someone else finish a sentence lest one of his own thoughts go unspoken. Quiet Meiko (K.K. Moggie; Daphne’s Dive) usually keeps her emotions bottled up. Carina (Elizabeth Carter) is an African-American who holds the rotating position on the committee reserved for new parents. The topic under discussion at the first meeting is whether the already lengthy drop-down menu on the online admissions application needs an option for "transracial adoptee." Initially, it seems that the playwright is offering yet another satire of group dynamics and political correctness gone amok similar to that seen in “Miles for Mary” last year. However, Mr. Spector has bigger fish to fry. After being introduced to the characters’ foibles at the first meeting, we see how these play out when a crisis strikes the school — a case of the mumps. When the health authorities demand that the school prevent unvaccinated students from attending, the large number of antivaxxer parents are incensed. To mollify everyone, Don sets up a Facebook Live component at their next meeting, during which all parents can share their thoughts. Their online comments, projected on a wall, range from totally off-topic to hysterically funny to downright nasty, leading the meeting into utter chaos. After intermission, the play takes a serious turn, which I will not spoil for you. As strong feelings rise to the surface, discussions become more contentious. Will the school find a way to meet the crisis? Come and see. The play is well-written, well-acted, well-designed (set by John McDermott, costumes by Lux Haac) and well-directed (by Colt Coeur artistic director Adrienne Campbell-Holt.) It is all too rare to encounter a play that is funny, timely, fair-minded and stimulating. Unfortunately, it is scheduled to close September 21. I hope it finds further life on another New York stage. Running time: two hours including intermission.

Downstairs

C-

First the good news: this latest offering by Primary Stages offers the opportunity to see Tyne Daly (Gypsy, Master Class, “Cagney and Lacey”) and her brother Tim (Coastal Disturbances, “Madame Secretary”) together onstage for the first time in New York, both playing roles that cast them against type. Tim, usually a suave charmer, plays Teddy, a middle-aged man with a fragile grip on reality that may be the result of paranoia. Tyne, usually the smart, strong woman, plays Irene, a timid, depressive housewife who lives in fear of her horrible husband Gerry (John Procaccino; Our Mother’s Brief Affair, Nikolai and the Others). The bad news is that the play is by Theresa Rebeck (Bernhardt/Hamlet, Poor Behavior), a playwright whose ability to get her work produced no matter how many disappointing plays she writes never fails to amaze me. Add another disappointment to the list. Despite a interesting premise — Teddy is temporarily occupying a beat-up couch in Irene’s basement against the wishes of her tyrannical husband — the play mostly spins its wheels and dissipates what little tension it builds up well before it finally ends. If there was any point to it, it was lost on me. Despite fine performances by all three actors, I found myself losing interest and patience early on. The slack direction by Adrienne Campbell-Holt (Thirst, Zürich) didn't help either. I did like Narelle Sissons’s (All My Sons, In the Blood) meticulously detailed, dingy, unfinished basement set and Sarah Laux's (The Band's Visit, The Humans) evocative costumes. I admire the Dalys for trying something different, but wish it had turned out better. Running time: one hour 45 minutes, no intermission.