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| Suzanne (Lisa Anne Porter, left), Carina (Elizabeth Carter), Don (Rolf Saxon), Eli (Teddy Spencer) and Meiko (Charisse Loriaux) follow online comments about vaccination. (Photo by David Allen) |
Political correctness is carried to extremes in
Jonathan Spector’s “Eureka Day,” receiving its world premiere at Aurora Theatre
Company.
At the private Eureka Day School in the Berkeley
hills, its five-member executive committee tries to reach consensus on various
issues.
The first, for example, is racial designation. The
list of possibilities read by Don (Rolf Saxon), the chairman, seems endless.
Moreover, the school’s production of “Peter Pan” last
year caused so many problems because of its depiction of Indians that it was
set in outer space.
On a more serious note, Don reads a letter from the
Alameda County health director that an outbreak of mumps at the school means
that children who have been vaccinated or who have had mumps may continue to
attend. All others will be quarantined until the outbreak abates.
This letter causes great consternation among the
committee, which includes Meiko (Charisse Loriaux), Suzanne (Lisa Anne Porter),
Eli (Teddy Spencer) and newcomer Carina (Elizabeth Carter).
Because they can’t agree on a letter to accompany
the health director’s, they have an online, live forum. As Don moderates, parents
chime in.
Many of the comments, projected for the audience to
see, are so far afield or so ridiculous that the audience is soon laughing so
loud and so hard that the dialogue can’t be heard. That’s not important because
it’s secondary to the hilarious satire in this first act.
Act 2 turns far more serious. Eli’s son is in
intensive care with mumps, which he probably caught from Meiko’s daughter.
This is followed by a debate about vaccination
between Suzanne, who opposes it, and Carina, who favors it. Each has deeply
felt reasons for her stance, and there’s no common ground.
As directed by Josh Costello, the actors clearly
define each character without resorting to stereotypes.
Richard Olmsted’s school room set features a large
window with a panoramic view of San Francisco Bay and its surroundings. It’s
complemented by Jeff Rowlings’ lighting, Maggie Whitaker’s costumes and
Theodore Hulsker’s sound and video.
This play was the first to come from Aurora’s
Originate + Generate Play Development Program. Although it’s set in
left-leaning, politically correct Berkeley, it should play well elsewhere
because it’s so amusing and so tuned in to the ongoing controversy about
children’s vaccinations.
Running just under two hours with one intermission, “Eureka
Day” will continue through May 13 at Aurora Theatre Company, 2081 Addison St.,
Berkeley.
