Eureka Day Reviews

Chicago Tribune - Recommended

"...PJ Powers, playing the well-meaning leader of those who cannot be led, offers a carefully observed performance with farcical interludes. The rest of the ensemble (Aurora Adachi-Winter, Caroline Chu, Jürgen Hooper and the delightfully quizzical Gabrielle Lott-Rogers) show much skill in comic timing although the best moments come not when they lean into the gags and the shtick but into the very human challenges of doing your best for your kids in the most difficult of circumstances. The more recognizable the behavior, the better it works in this show."

Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended

"...Filled with well-meaning individuals who — amusingly blatant passive aggression aside — respectfully debate whether “transracial adoptee” should be added as a racial identifier to the school’s application form for the sake of comprehensive inclusivity, the committee operates under idealistic rules, including a requirement for consensus decision-making."

Daily Herald - Highly Recommended

"...If you need a good laugh (and who doesn’t?) head to the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place for TimeLine Theatre and Broadway in Chicago’s hugely entertaining Chicago premiere of “Eureka Day,” Jonathan Spector’s deliciously provocative social satire that skewers affluent progressives while also granting them grace."

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...With Jonathan Spector’s Eureka Day, TimeLine Theatre (in partnership with Broadway in Chicago) slices with scalpel-sharp wit and stinging drama into the high-stakes debate over the cost of mandating (or not) a mumps vaccine at the titular private school, where “every point of view” is respected."

Stage and Cinema - Recommended

"...But there are many joys to be had here. The actors are uniformly excellent even in the weaker parts; I wish Jürgen Hooper (Eli) and Aurora Adachi-Winter (Meiko) had more to work with, because they're wonderful. It's the delightful asides that charm the most: Don's omnipresent SodaStream bottle; the resentment with which Suzanne works her stainless steel (natch!) straw; Meiko's (almost) psychotically intense knitting. These actors have fleshed out their characters beautifully, with PJ Powers (Don) as the MVP. His Pollyanna of a school principal is note-perfect. He gets more laughs from his eager-to-placate stammer than I would have thought possible and his scream of "stop typing" at the end of the best scene in the play (see below) gets my vote for the funniest delivery on stage that night."

Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended

"..."Eureka Day" written by Jonathan Spector and directed by Lili-Anne Brown is a look at a private day school and those who are on a board to ensure that the school be one that is highly ranked and very "special". The play takes place in the school library where the board is meeting relative to a situation involving Mumps and vaccine. Should all children be vaccinated? There are five people on this committee/board and the rule about making any changes to the school rules is that it must be all who agree on any items. The town or city that they are in is one of privilege, and each of the personalities is unique with their own agenda."

Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended

"...Although first presented in 2018, Jonathan Spector’s hilarious EUREKA DAY feels as timely as if it had been written yesterday. With the current controversy raging in America over the shocking new medical advice and regulations placed upon immunization, Spector’s comedy hits home hard. Astutely Directed by Lili-Anne Brown, this gifted cast works well together, like the gears of a finely oiled time piece. Each actor has his or her own moment to chime, but it’s in the group chats where all the humor, humanity and harmonious insight rings forth most clearly."

Buzz Center Stage - Highly Recommended

"...Directed by Lili?Anne Brown, Eureka Day is a witty, fast?paced production presented by TimeLine Theatre in partnership with Broadway in Chicago. The work of Brown’s talented creative team immediately transports us into an elementary school library – particularly that of Scenic Designer Collete Pollard. The combination of picture books, colorful bean bags, and small chairs is sure to leave you feeling nostalgic as you think back to a time when you perhaps inhabited spaces like this."

Third Coast Review - Recommended

"...Eureka Day is a play about vaccination and anti-vaccination. But of course, it’s about a lot more. The play, now being staged by Timeline Theatre, tells the story of how a mumps outbreak is handled by a progressive private school in Berkeley, California. The 2018 play, written by Jonathan Spector, is directed by Lili-Anne Brown. Broadway in Chicago is presenting the play at the Broadway Playhouse."

Chicago On Stage - Highly Recommended

"...Spector’s script and Brown’s direction show us the impracticality of this notion, no matter how wonderful it might be as an ideal. Who wouldn’t want there to be a consensus about decisions, leaving no feelings hurt? It’s lovely as a concept, but this play illustrates its problems and limitations. Conflict avoidance is also lovely, but sometimes things can’t be resolved nicely. Spector is careful not to make the anti-vaxxers the villains; in fact, the man in charge of the meetings, Don (PJ Powers) makes a point of writing “No one is a villain” in large letters on the white board. His attempt to use logic to diffuse a highly emotional argument, though, predictably falls flat."

MaraTapp.org - Highly Recommended

"...Even though it won the 2025 Tony, I’ll admit to being a bit nervous about seeing a play revolving around parents at a fancy private California school as they grapple with issues of quarantine. I feared it would be an evening of entitled, self-absorbed liberals who make your hemorrhoids hurt. Eureka Day erased my concerns almost immediately like the ideal No. 2 pencil with its wit, timeliness and depth."

Werner's Theatre Reviews - Highly Recommended

"...Playwright Jonathan Spector writes Eureka Day with remarkable heart and humanity, allowing the characters to exist beyond caricature even as the play leans into satire. From quiet, vulnerable moments shared between individual board members to a hilarious livestream with the school’s families that rapidly devolves into chaos via its comment section, the audience oscillates between focused silence and uncontrollable laughter. The humor lands sharply, but it never undercuts the emotional weight beneath the debate."

BroadwayWorld - Highly Recommended

"...Director Lili-Anne Brown and her compelling cast of Chicago theatre all-stars make clear just why EUREKA DAY has become an instant American classic (it is currently the nation’s third most-produced play of the 2025-26 season). Tensions run high throughout the show’s brisk 105-minute runtime, but every moment and role are treated with empathy and care, even if viewers may not personally agree with some characters’ beliefs or motivations."