EUREKA DAY
3W, 2 M 95 minutes

At Eureka Day School in Berkeley, all decisions are made by consensus, diversity of opinion is valued, and vaccinations are a personal matter. When a mumps outbreak hit the school, it turns out that not everyone in the community has the same definition of social justice. Now the board of directors must confront the central question of our time: how do find consensus when you can’t agree on the facts?
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Selected history:
[2022] Asolo Theater (Sarasota, FL) upcoming production
[2021] State Theater of South Australia (Adelaide) upcoming production
[2021] Syracuse Stage (Syracuse, NY) upcoming production
[2020] Theatrical Outlet (Atlanta, GA) reading
[2019] Mosaic Theater (Washington, DC) production
[2019] InterAct Theater (Philadelphia, PA) production
[2019] Spreckles Theater (Sonoma, CA) production
[2019] Colt Coeur (New York City) production
[2019] Roundabout Theater Company (New York City) reading
[2018] South Coast Rep (Costa Mesa, CA) workshop
[2018] Aurora Theater (Berkeley, CA) production
[2016] Aurora Theater (Berkeley, CA) commission

Honors/Awards:
[2019] Nomination, New York Drama Critics Circle Award
[2019] Will Glickman Award for Best New Play to Premiere in the SF Bay Area
[2018] Theater Bay Area Award, Outstanding New Play
[2018] San Francisco Bay Area Theater Critics Circle Award, Best New Play
[2018] Rella Lossy Award Emerging Playwright Award

Reviews:
"So brilliantly yoked to the current American moment—its flighty politics, its deadly folly—that it makes you want to jump out of your skin...I’m still trying to figure out how hard is appropriate for a critic to laugh at the theatre; this night, I made myself hoarse." - Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker

"The perfect play for our age of disagreement...[Eureka Day] is not only one of the funniest plays to open this year, it is one of the saddest."
​Ben Brantley, New York Times (Critics' Pick)

"Jonathan Spector's play is so crisply defined that you might have to periodically remind yourself that you haven't already met these characters in real life...Spector proves as much as master of pathos as of comedy - Lily Janiak, San Francisco Chronicle (Highest Rating)

"Wonderfully spiky...Spector and the expert cast extract comic gold from the little tugs-of-war for control" - Adam Feldman, Time Out New York (Critics' Pick).

"Eureka Day is not to be ignored...this caustically funny but trenchantly provocative comedy...devolves into one of the funniest comic whirlwinds on the current-day stage." - Steven Suskin, New York Stage Review (5/5 stars)

 "Prepare to be triggered into fits of laughter by Eureka Day, an extremely funny and ultimately thoughtful new comedy." Michael Sommers, New York Stage Review (5/5 Stars)​

"A blisteringly satiric and provocative play...this may just prove to be the best play of the year, certainly one of the most challenging and engrossing." Victor Gluck, Theatrescene.net

"That it treads in such surefooted fashion from farce to heartbreak to gloves-off confrontation is a testament to author Jonathan Spector's nimble way with his characters...One is struck by Spector's remarkable facility for skewering his characters' affectations while allowing them their humanity. It's a pretty devastating combination and it helps to explain why Eureka Day is both loaded with laughter and armed with plenty to say about the way we live now." - David Barbour, Lighting and Sound America

"A masterfully written piece of theater, as timely and thought-provoking as it is hilarious." Nicole Singley, Aisle Seat Review

"A carefully orchestrated symphony of chaos." Thomas Floyd, Washington Post

"A rip-roaring, insightful production – one built for our fractured time" (5/5 stars) Ben Demers, DC Theater Scene

"Both hysterically funny and deeply profound...despite the lampooning of so much of modern life in this play, Mr. Spector’s generosity of spirit is too great for any easy answers." Sue Rosenbluth, Two Sues On The Aisle

"Uproarious satire...a shrewd, cunning laceration." This Week In New York 

"Like the best satire, Eureka Day will provoke discussion and a sense of the real dilemmas of communicating in a deeply divided society. Spector’s mastery of liberal jargon captures the tenor of the left-wing pieties and marks him as a smart new voice in theater." - Edward Karam, Off Off Online​

"Topical, brilliant and timely." - Suzanna Bowling, Times Square Chronicles

"It is as timely a play as any for the times we live in today...would that real life were as entertaining and expertly written." Nella Vera, Culture Vulture

"Written by Mr. Spector with precision and biting insight...detailed performances bring out the truthfulness, sadness, and hilarity in Mr. Spector’s very timely play." - Adrian Dimanlig, The Hangover Report 


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