Remember when theater used to be of the moment and reflect what was going on outside the auditorium politically and socially? How playwrights were like doctors forcing us to gaze upon an X-ray of our societal ailments? Such intense examination in our otherwise escapist entertainment fare does occur upon occasion and should be celebrated. Two current Off-Broadway productions, The Doctor and The Comeuppance, offer an unblinkered diagnosis of the current divided state, and while it may not provide a pretty picture, these X-rays are illuminating and gripping.
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins unflinchingly probes the illnesses of modern society in his latest work, The Comeuppance, at Signature Theater. As he had done in previous scathing plays such as An Octoroon, Gloria, and Appropriate (which will have its Broadway debut in a Second Stage production later this season), Jacobs-Jenkins peels back the polite public veneer of daily interactions to reveal the seething turmoil beneath. With this latest report on contemporary conflict, the playwright takes a seemingly innocuous group situation—five high school friends gather for a “pre-game” get-together before their 20th reunion—and transforms it into a soul-shattering contemplation of life choices, political movements, and mortality itself.
In addition to surviving 9/11, endless wars and unrest, and most recently the COVID shutdown, each of the quintet has made questionable life choices and now is receiving their “comeuppance,” paying the consequences of their ill-considered options. They are also reaching the age when youth is at its last stages and illness and death are on the horizon. Jacob-Jenkins cleverly conveys this grim reality by having each the characters become the Grim Reaper in sly asides to the audiences. To create this effect, sound designer Palmer Hefferan gives each performer’s voice a demonic distortion, lighting designer Amith Chandrashaker puts them in a spooky spotlight, and eerie illusions are created by “magic designer” Skylar Fox. Death gives us the lowdown on his trade and how it will affect each of the five.
The five were part of an unofficial club nicknamed MERGE for Multi-Ethnic Reject Group and now no longer feel special. Embittered Emilio (savagely sharp Caleb Eberhardt) is an avant-garde artist living in Berlin, but he still has feelings for scattered Caitlin (superbly fluttery Susannah Flood) who has regrets about her marriage to a much older man with two near-adult children. Shut-in Ursula (subtly sad Brittany Bradford), whose front porch provides the setting, grieves the recent death of her beloved grandmother, is gradually losing her sight due to diabetes and is withdrawing from the world. Francisco (shatteringly pathetic Bobby Moreno) is dealing with homelessness and traumatic nightmares due to a near-death explosion while serving in Iraq. He used to date Caitlin and evidently abused her. Francisco’s cousin, alcoholic Kristina (expressively conflicted Shannon Tyo) is weighted down with her crushing hours as a surgeon and caring for five children and seeks release in intense partying.
How these once bright and promising students deal with the difficult circumstances of being adult and facing death form the spine of Jacobs-Jenkins’ insightful play. Eric Ting’s direction is almost invisible; the action is natural and untheatrical as is the superb ensemble acting. The actors are so relaxed and realistic that when a phone went off in the audience at the performance attended, they acknowledged the interruption without breaking character, paused a moment and went on without missing a beat as if the annoyance were part of the script.
Like The Doctor, The Comeuppance does not claim to have a solution to the dilemmas faced by its characters. We must all reckon with the specter of Death and Jacobs-Jenkins documents that struggle with rare insight and sympathy.
