‘Eureka Day’: In a disaster, is inclusion possible?

Sasha Diamond, Nancy Lemenager, Ken Cheeseman, and Eunice Wood watch in horror as a livestreamed meeting turns into chaos in “Eureka Day.” Photo by Liza Voll

By Rich Fahey

BOSTON – If a school stands for everything, does it actually stand for nothing?

And if a school strives to be so inclusive that every viewpoint, every idea, is so equally valued and weighted that the school’s leaders twist themselves into knots, can the school then become paralyzed and unable to move forward?

In The Huntington’s production of the Tony Award-winning comedy “Eureka Day,” the search for common ground becomes elusive, especially when it comes to comes to one of the thorniest medical issues of our time: Vaccines for children, and what happens when some parents are hesitant to embrace them.

The result is a biting, clever, oft-hilarious look at wokeism in education run amuck.

Jonathan Spector’s play was prescient. It was actually first produced in Berkeley, Calif. in April 2018, before the pandemic thrust vaccines – and especially the Covid-19 vaccines — into the medical spotlight, and a national debate ensued.

“Eureka Day” begins with a vivid preview of what is to come: As the play opens in a bright, cheery, library – scenic design by Lusiana Stecconi —  Principal Don (an excellent Ken Cheeseman) is leading the executive board discussion about the drop-down menu on the prospective parent application. The board must decide whether to include “transracial adoptee” as an option among the many other ethnic identities already offered.

One by one, the other board members give their opinions, and we get a window into what might be lying ahead.

Only one member – Carina (Eunice Woods), who holds the seat that goes to the parent of a new student – seems to meet the issue in a common-sense, straightforward way, proposing omitting the addition because adoption is not an ethnicity.

But Eli (Japhet Balaban) – an opinionated, aggressive tech bro who has recently sold out and made a score and whose wealth will be felt down the line – jumps in over the top. He is a stay-at-home dad who is also involved in an affair with single mom Meiko (Sasha Diamond), a “Berkeley native” furiously knitting in the corner.

Suzanne (Nancy Lemenger) is one of the school’s founding members, a well-off white woman who often sees herself above the fray.

The rub is that the school’s bylaws call for the board to reach a consensus before action can be taken, and if this debate is any indication…

The Titanic iceberg moment comes when a public health official informs the school that several students have come down with mumps, and then issues a directive ordering a mandatory quarantine and temporary shutdown.

Because Eureka Day had, up to that point, a relaxed, highly inclusive vaccine policy that allowed parents to easily opt out, the board is sent into a frenzy, unable to agree on how to reopen or whether to institute a vaccine mandate.

Board members decide to host a livestreamed “community-activated conversation” with the parents.

Don leads the discussion, playing it cool as he tries to “unpack” the issues involved; the meeting quickly devolves into a discussion of vaccines and their efficacy.

As a shocked Don and other committee members watch in horror,  the insults and invectives in the comments section get  more heated and then profane – all projected on a screen above the stage —  and the overwhelmed Don proceeds to melt down.

As the audience laughter grew ever louder with each comment, the cast’s dialogue went unheard, and they wisely held back until order could be somewhat restored.

In the heated exchanges, the gold star went to a woman who gives a “thumbs up” emoji to anything and everything that’s posted, no matter how ugly, polarizing or profane it is.

Second place goes to the respondent who makes special note of the first time the word “Nazi” is mentioned.

Suffice it to say that the school’s façade of tolerance and unity quickly faded.

Cheeseman’s portrayal of Don is simply sublime. The amiable peacemaker to a fault, he finds himself raked over the coals, and being accused of the mortal sin in a woke school with a reputation to defend: Bias!

In the debate that follows members start revealing their true colors. It reaches its nadir when Suzanne incorrectly describes the family of Carina, who is Black, of not being a “fully-paid” family. She also happens to lead the anti-vaxxer/ hesitant parent part of the discussion.

Eventually, the school must – after all voices are heard, again and again.  — make a decision on how to go forward. Will inclusion and consensus go out the window?

The direction is by Margot Bordelon, whose sensational work on The Huntington’s “John Proctor is the Villain” garnered Norton Awards in 2024 for Best Play and Best Ensemble.

She has developed three of Spector’s other plays and notes that Spector had a child who attended the Park Day School in Berkeley and that “Eureka Day” came from his experience, even if the debate in the play didn’t necessarily happen at the school.

The cast is pitch perfect in their portrayal of the “Berkeley-centric characters” Spector has created.

Bordelon, in program notes, said what she hopes people take from the play is that community can exist, and continue to flourish, even after great conflict. “I also hope people laugh their asses off.”

At a recent show, they did. And wait for the curtain line to be delivered by Don. It’s a corker.

The Huntington production of “Eureka Day.”  Written by Jonathan Spector. Directed by Margot Bordelon. Scenic design by Luciana Stecconi. Costume design by Zoe Sundra. Lighting design by Cha See. Sound design Daniela Hart, Noel Nichols, Bailey Tierweiler & UptownWorks. Projection design by John Horzen & UptownWorks. Dramaturg by Charles Haugland & Sid Jepsen. At the Huntington Theatre through June 28. Huntingtontheatre.org