Review: Superb ‘Eureka Day’ at GableStage skewers the vaccine debate

An ultra-progressive day school in Berkeley, California, a city whose name has become synonymous with ultra-progressiveness, faces the conundrum of individual rights versus the good of the larger group in “Eureka Day” by Jonathan Spector.

Now at GableStage through Sunday, June 14, “Eureka Day” follows a small group of parents, along with the principal, as they decide issues affecting the school by consensus. This is the kind of school where they strive for snacks made of locally sourced ingredients — paper plates and other disposables are frowned upon.

The principal, Don (Mark H. Dold), loves to go barefoot and quote Rumi at the council meetings. Suzanne (Jeni Hacker) is an older mom who jokes that she and her husband had another baby just so Suzanne could stay involved with the school.

Eli (Ryan Didato) became wealthy as one of the first employees at a tech giant and is now a doting, stay at home dad.

There’s also Meiko (Jordyn Moone), a single mom who knits during the meetings and sometimes struggles to voice her opinions. The newest council member is Carina (Rita Cole), a businesswoman whose child has just started at Eureka Day.

The sharp comedy follows their meetings over the course of the school year, revealing the micro-aggressions, class distinctions, and prejudices of the council members, which Spector addresses with clever, amusing insight.

When a child at the school comes down with the mumps, the council faces the heated issue of vaccinations. Suzanne is strongly against a vaccine mandate, even as the mumps spreads through the student body. The other members struggle with their desire to keep their children safe through herd immunity while respecting the rights of the individual parents. This leads to heated debates, heart-wrenching, personal experiences and revelations, and hilarious comedy, especially during a town hall meeting with parents over Zoom.

“Eureka Day” premiered at the Aurora Theatre Company in Berkeley in 2018, before the COVID-19 pandemic, so Spector’s play feels like a prophecy. Last year it won the Tony award for best revival of a play.

Each member of the cast gets a chance to shine, but what makes the production especially effective is how fully they function as an ensemble.

Dold, who has distinguished himself in past GableStage productions of “Harry Clarke,” “Appropriate,” and “The Lehman Trilogy,” is terrific as Don, a crunchy-granola kind of guy who quotes poetry and carries an NPR tote bag. Dold capitalizes on these qualities with his funny and moving performance.

New to Miami stages, Moone is a welcome addition. As Meiko, a quiet single mom with a penchant for knitting like a cheerful Madame DeFarge, Moone embodies Meiko’s optimism, which, as the situation escalates, explodes into an everybody’s-thinking-it-but-no-one-wants-to-say-it, show-stopping monologue.

Rita Cole plays Carina, the newest council member. She serves as the audience-perspective character—she’s new here, just like the rest of us. While the other characters know each other and how these meetings work, we see the proceedings through her eyes. As the only Black member of the council, which strives for diversity, equity, and inclusion in all things, views the others with caution, especially as racism surfaces in comments from the group. Cole plays Carina with dignity and a delicious, knowing side-eye as she observes and responds to the other council members.

As Eli, Didato brings an easygoing, affable charm to the role. He’s the likable tech whiz always ready to come to the rescue, though Eli harbors some secrets. As the play progresses, Eli develops a very personal perspective on the vaccine issue, and Didato’s performance reflects that change beautifully.

Hacker is well cast as Suzanne, an earth mother type whose life revolves around her family and Eureka Day, not necessarily in that order. Hacker plays Suzanne with passion and shines during a powerful monologue late in the play.

Stuart Meltzer, artistic director of Zoetic Stage and here guest directing at GableStage, keeps the action moving briskly while still allowing the play’s more powerful moments room to breathe.

Frank J. Oliva’s scenic design captures the sunny and cheerful vibe of an elementary school classroom, and is perfectly juxtaposed with the play’s satirical edge. Steven Covey’s projection design, especially during the Zoom meeting, is a marvel. Laura Turnbull’s costume design perfectly defines each character.

Tony Galaska’s lighting and Sean McGinley’s sound work cohesively with the other design level elements to create the vibe of the play.

“Eureka Day” skewers a ripped-from-the-headlines debate in an effective and introspective way without making one side the villain. It is modern comedy at its best, tinged with drama and realism, and the GableStage production is superb.

If you go:

WHAT: “Eureka Day”

WHERE: GableStage at the Biltmore Hotel, 1200 Anastasia Ave., Coral Gables

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 2 p.m. Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. Through Sunday, June 14.

COST: $60 and $70

INFORMATION: 305-445-1119 or gablestage.org.

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This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 6:24 PM.