Final Week: Why DPT's EUREKA DAY Brings a Conversation You Don’t Want to Miss

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What do you do when facts become subjective and every solution divisive?

The cast of Detroit Public Theatre's Eureka Day, playing through October 25 — The cast of Detroit Public Theatre's ***Eureka Day***, playing through October 25

That is the world of EUREKA DAY, Jonathan Spector’s sharp and surprisingly tender comedy, now in its final week as the opening production of Detroit Public Theatre's 12th Season.

At Eureka Day School, a progressive private school in Berkeley, California, five board members prize representation, inclusion and consensus, until a mumps outbreak forces a reckoning over vaccination policy and even the facts seem open to dispute.

Running at Detroit Public Theatre through Sunda, October 25, the piece asks a clear question: “How do you build consensus when no one can agree on truth?” (Detroit Public Theatre)

“...a call for compassion and civil dialogue with those with opposing viewpoints...” - Erica Hobbs, Midbrow

DPT co-founder Courtney Burkett directs a cast including fellow Co-Producing Artistic Director Sarah Winkler (Suzanne), Mona Moriya (Meiko), Halimah Nurullah (Carina), Matt Hollerbach (Eli), Tobin Hissong (Don) and Jala Jackson (Winter). Hissong, Moriya, and Hollerbach are all making their DPT debuts.

Halimah Burullah as Carina and Mona Moriya as Meiko — ***Halimah Burullah*** *as Carina and* ***Mona Moriya*** *as Meiko*

In a recent interview with the Wayne State Student Paper, The Sound End, Hollerbach said, “I think it's a real opportunity to, obviously, give people a good night of theater, so they can laugh and cry and have a good time out, but also ... to really give some dignity to all the different sides to this debate...”

Playwright Jonathan Spector wrote this piece prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the relevance is impossible to ignore. EUREKA DAY premiered in 2018 at Berkeley’s Aurora Theatre Company and reached Broadway in 2024. Manhattan Theatre Club’s production, starring Jessica Hecht and Bill Irwin, won the 2025 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play, plus the Drama League and Drama Desk awards.