After a highly successful run at London's Old Vic, Anna D. Shapiro's Eureka Day has made its Broadway debut at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Written by Jonathan Spector, this riveting satire centers on a progressive elementary school thrown into turmoil by a sudden mumps outbreak. The Board of Directors, known for their commitment to consensus and mutual respect, find themselves in the eye of a storm, grappling with divergent viewpoints and tensions. Their debate over whether to maintain their liberal vaccination stance or impose mandates that could fracture the community forms the crux of the drama.

With outstanding performances and piercing social and political commentary, Eureka Day is capturing the attention of critics and audiences alike. Dive into the reviews below to discover Broadway's latest must-see production.

The Reviews

Theatermania: "Seemingly a standard 90-minute issue play addressing the topic of vaccine skepticism, Jonathan Spector's Eureka Day, now on Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre under the banner of Manhattan Theatre Club, is actually a blunt yet effective portrait of power in allegedly egalitarian spaces."

Deadline: "Eureka Day has more in store for us than laughs, though, and the second half of the play, while occasionally funny, becomes absolutely intriguing and even heart-tugging as characters we think we have pegged reveal depths we hadn't expected. As the peacemaking Don is wont to say, there are no villains here, and try as we might to point fingers at a few, it becomes increasingly hard to do so given how expertly and compassionately the playwright written and the top-notch cast performed these strugglers-through-life."

The Wrap: "Here, the playwright has the enormous help of Hecht, who delivers one of this year's most riveting performances...Whatever your views on childhood vaccines may be, Hecht forces you to reconsider those ideas right or wrong."

Timeout: "Eureka Day was already timely when it made its local debut Off Broadway in 2019. It is even more so in this Manhattan Theatre Club revival, now that vaccine denier Robert F. Kennedy has been chosen to lead the Department of Health and Human Services in the next administration. It seems more important than ever to engage with this issue and to understand the views of those who disagree. Eureka Day is often very funny, but it also contributes valuably to that discourse. Even as it needles the left, it offers an invigorating shot in the arm."

The Guardian: "Spector smartly avoids easy dunks as Eureka Day's fault lines become canyons, though nobody on the board wants to admit as much. No one is a villain here; if anything comes off poorly, it's reverence for conflict avoidance in the name of community. Every character gets to land a fair punch, or make a good point, as well as appear both risible and ridiculous. At Eureka Day, as in most places, most people are well-meaning, often deeply misguided, trying to make sense of what limited knowledge and life experience they have. Trauma scalds and morphs. And humor, at least in this remarkable new play, somehow transcends the third rail of parent debates."

The New York Times: "Whether you can take seriously the good intentions of characters so hung up on what they say regardless of what they do is another matter. I couldn't quite get there, not when they are painted so broadly to ensure the laughs. To avoid its "extremely problematic portrayal of Native Peoples" and a "host of Colonialist Issues," the school's production of "Peter Pan," was reset in outer space. Reasonable ideas, ridiculous outcomes.

That's fine within the world of the play, as sharp a biopsy of wokeness and obtuseness as you could want, needling people on both sides of the issue. But IRL, I was left wondering, strangely for a critic: If everyone's point of view is valid, is anyone's?"