The Shaker Bridge Theatre’s production of “Eureka Day” is currently at the tail-end of its run at the Briggs Opera House in White River Junction, with one final weekend of performances slated for Thursday, Oct. 16 through Sunday, Oct. 19. This play, written by Jonathan Spector, set in the fictional Eureka Day School in Berkeley, Calif., opens on a school board meeting. Comprised of five members who represent a bastion of progressive ideals, dialogue immediately erupts into conversations of inclusivity, diversity, and acceptance — as each board decision can only be reached through a consensus.
When a mumps outbreak threatens the Eureka community, confrontation ensues as these five characters grapple with essential questions of individual belief versus community survival, attempt to distinguish fact from opinion, and ultimately strive to answer the essential question: How can a community establish a consensus when truth becomes indiscernible?
Comprised of sharp-witted humor and painfully human confrontation, “Eureka Day,” forces the audience to question their own beliefs on vaccination policies, school mandates, and the duty one has to the community in which they live. This play eventually transcends all debate to hit on something true and universal. Empathy for the human condition, in every form, is on full display in the Briggs Opera House — the goal for director Bill Coons.
Coons, founder and creative director of Shaker Bridge Theatre, told the Standard, “I think this play is exploring what it means to try and construct something based on your humanity. The idea of a consensus is wonderful, but perhaps the fundamental nature of human beings prohibits the possibility of a fair and just consensus. This play takes hold of humanity and cracks it open to see what is inside achieving such a feat through humor and compassion.”
The timeliness of this play’s content — from vaccination mandates to quarantine to Zoom meetings where parents feel the virtual freedom of saying anything that comes to mind, no matter how vile — was not lost on actor Jammie Patton, as she told the Standard. “To think the fact that Jonathan Spector wrote this play pre-COVID is astounding. Vaccinations have been a debate for years, but the way Spector writes of this, exploring all sides and angles of the conversation, even made me begin to question my own personal beliefs. We are individuals in this country; we have freedom of choice. However, within that individualistic mentality, we still have an obligation to care and protect our community. ‘Eureka Day’ incites a very interesting debate. It pushes back on a dialogue we thought we have all heard before, and through that, a new kind of truth is uncovered on the stage.”
For those wishing to have their perspectives challenged, their thoughts broadened, and their hearts expanded, look no further than Shaker Bridge Theatre’s “Eureka Day.” Be sure to catch the final run of shows this weekend. More information and tickets can be found at shakerbridgetheatre.org.
For more on this, please see our October 16 edition of the Vermont Standard.
