EUREKA DAY Previews

One school, too many principles.

The new comedy Eureka Day, by Jonathan Spector, begins Broadway previews tomorrow night (November 25). The Main Stem staging — following separate Off-Broadway and London productions in 2019 and 2022 — stars Amber Gray, Jessica Hecht, Bill Irwin, Thomas Middleditch, and Chelsea Yakura-Kurtz; Anna D. Shapiro directs. Eureka Day officially opens on December 16 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre and concludes its limited run on January 19.

“Wildly relevant and bitingly funny, Jonathan Spector’s play comes to Manhattan Theatre Club in an all-new production following an acclaimed London run. Eureka Day is a private California elementary school with a Board of Directors that values inclusion above all else — that is, until an outbreak of the mumps forces everyone in the community to reconsider the school’s liberal vaccine policy. As cases rise, the board realizes with horror that they’ve got to do what they swore they never would: make a choice that won’t please absolutely everybody.”

Who’s bringing a backpack?

I've seen a production of this (and worked on another) and am excited to be in attendance tomorrow. My thoughts will have inherent bias as I'm a big fan of this play. Hope it lives up to what I know the show to be!

I don’t feel it’s fair to really judge the show where this production is at their current state. SO I’m going to be as polite as possible and simply say they are miles, miles, miles away from finding rhythm, specificity, and clarity on where the humor lands and navigating the narrative.

this was the most preview-est first preview I’ve ever been to. Several light and sound cues called too early, a LOT of paraphrasing, and even a called line moment from Bill Irwin (However, based on the reactions from the other actors, I could tell no one was fully prepared for how truly funny the “zoom” town hall scene is)

Jessica Hecht will absolutely be nominated for a Tony Award for getting a role that REALLY lets her lean into her quirky idiosyncrasies and make sense of a very challenging character.

Everyone else is very much really still scratching the surface. Set is appropriate and functional, sound and lights, too.

I’d give them three or four more performances before giving them a fair assessment. But I will say I think it’s going to be as good as the script allows it to be. It has the makings.

I’ll chime in more about what I think about the writing and direction after others have weighed in. I’m too familiar.

Updated On: 11/25/24 at 09:11 PM

Respectfullly this cast feels like such a downgrade from the London production at the Old Vic with Helen Hunt and Mark McKinney



this play deserved a star-studded production and feels like it is filled with second or third choices

This is a very sound, very well written and structured play. Very funny and very thoughtful. I am judging this from the London Old Vic production but I can't imagine this cast and this director doing a bad job with the text. And Jessica Hecht is a goddess ...so there is that.

I found the production to be very timely and the script had a nice blend of humor and pathos. The show in its current state is bogged down by some sluggish pacing, uneven performances and excess stammering. Further character development, beat examination and not drowning in political correctness will help heighten the conflicts and give the show some extra crackle. If the actors project a bit more it will also keep the audience more engaged. I actually thought the play might have been better served with a bare bones set in a smaller space like the Newhouse at Lincoln Center.

Updated On: 12/1/24 at 09:33 AM

I saw this last night, and I don't know about the reports from early on in previews, but this production is firing on all cylinders now. For those interested in this kind of thing: it's amazing how casting can change a character. As I previously stated I saw and loved this play at the Old Vic in London (where it actually had a primarily American cast). Some spoilers ahead:

Helen Hunt had the role Jessica Hecht is playing. Where Helen Hunt was very measured and intelligent and actually emotionally intelligent in her approach to the role, Jessica Hecht is a little more passive aggressive and more obviously performative in her wokeness. I also believe this might finally get Jessica her Tony, if not, definitely a nomination. The tech billionaire who was played by the hot guy from the film Pride in London (Ben Schnetzer) is played by Thomas Middlemarch here who is very obviously a nerd so he seemed a little more hypocritical and needy and a little more nefarious in his open relationship and got laughs in a different way. A little bit more of an obvious interpretation but still valid. The rest of the cast was as fine as their West End counterparts.

The whole community action sequence with the forum and it's responders' comments (while watching our character's steering committee meeting) projected behind them was as hilarious as it was in London, maybe even more so. The audience was on the floor, more so than at the Old Vic. Maybe because it's a very American kind of attitude in those responses. It was so very, very funny! And the timing is now perfect.

I don't know if this would get a Broadway transfer ala Appropriate. It should. But if the play's tech isn't too hard to pull off, it could definitely be one of the most produced regional plays 2025/26.

Updated On: 12/7/24 at 10:23 AM

Yes, for an open-ended or limited run as Manhattan Theater Club has other subscription plays waiting for the Friedman.

Has anyone sat front row? Looking at the 30 Under 35 tickets but am also seeing that there is a table center stage that I imagine will block a lot from those seats.

willep said: "Has anyone sat front row? Looking at the 30 Under 35 tickets but am also seeing that there is a table center stage that I imagine will block a lot from those seats."

That is exactly where I sat - AA102. You miss nothing at all and I honestly could not imagine being elsewhere

I was there this afternoon as well and couldn’t have loved this more. I truly don’t remember the last play that made me laugh this hard. It’s absolutely one that I’ll be seeing a q couple more times before it ends.