The cast. Photography by Liza Voll.
Presented by The Huntington
Written by Jonathan Spector
Directed by Margot Bordelon
May 28 – June 28, 2026
The Huntington Theatre
264 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA 02115
Review by Kitty Drexel
“If my son can’t bring a peanut butter sandwich to school, then you can’t bring your unvaccinated child.”
– Elizabeth Cleveland, vice president/planning director of The Martin Agency
BOSTON — Watching Eureka Day at The Huntington is like seeing British philosopher Philippa Foot’s Trolley Problem play out in real time. Foot’s moral dilemma positions the survival of many against the survival of one via violent train death. It’s Sophie’s choice but with trolleys. In the case of Spector’s play, this choice plays out within a private school’s code of operation.
Foot’s philosophical conundrum doesn’t take into account the individuals tied to the track, the engineer steering the trolley, nor the real-life violence represented by the trolley. The Trolley Problem, taken at face value, is relatively simple. Human beings are complicated. When you combine complications such as parenting culture, offensively open-minded liberalism, and antivaxxer pseudoscience with the Trolley Problem, you get the backbone of Eureka Day.
In the cheerful library of Eureka Day private school, holistically designed by Luciana Stecconi, its board of directors attempts to reach consensus about normal elementary school things: school curriculum, website info. We enter the conversation in medias res. This conversation, like many board discussions, has gone on for a long time. Eureka Day welcomes all opinions, no matter how unique or distressing, and factors them into its consensus-driven philosophy of operations. Unfortunately, when every perspective matters, no perspective matters.
We learn that the Eureka Day school is facing a mumps outbreak. Over a series of long-winded meetings, the board members Suzanne (Nancy Lemenager), Carina (Euince Woods), Meiko (Sasha Diamond), and Eli (Japhet Balaban) argue the merits of a school-wide MMR vaccine requirement. Don (Ken Cheeseman), the Principal, tries to keep the in-person and Zoom conversations civilized. Due to a hilariously chaotic chat feed designed by John Horzen and UptownWorks, Don fails. Ebonie Marie plays Winter, a fellow Eureka Day parent.
Eureka Day is God of Carnage (Yasmina Reza) for the 2020s. Just as in God of Carnage, the parents of Eureka Day want to do what is best for their children. What that means and how it is achieved varies from parent to parent. When these parents in both plays feel fear, they lash out in cruel, unproductive ways. Not so different from children on a playground or neanderthals in a rock basin. So, if you’ve seen or read God of Carnage and appreciated its message, you’ll likely enjoy Eureka Day.
Photography by Liza Voll.
Similarly, if you identify as an ultra liberal leftist, social justice warrior with a chip on your shoulder and time to burn before the next protest, you might also enjoy this production. Eureka Day pokes good fun in our direction and highlights exactly why conservatives make fun of us: the never-ending, extra-sensitive discussions about every little thing; our protection of all feelings and opinions as valid; our thinking so far outside the box that the box no longer exists; our rewarding of all participation and unpacking of every experience; the unnecessary psychological handholding of grown-ass adults, etc., ad nauseam. I resembled the onstage characters performing their inane acts, and I wanted to strangle every character in play. But. In a good way. If you’ve volunteered for a nonprofit, you’ll know what I mean. The frustration is real.
Through her creation of the community in Eureka Day, director Margot Bordelon shows us that it takes all kinds to muck up the works of a school system. This is a well-shaped and paced production that is equally as well-proportioned by the design staff and acted by its cast. By the play’s end, we discover that, as in most cases, humanity chooses the survival of the many over the survival of the few. No amount of unique perspective or caring conversation will save children (or adults) from the mumps. Vaccinations – which do not cause autism – will.
