Review Highlights: EUREKA DAY - Stray Cat Theatre

Tony Latham, Jon Gentry, Felicia Penza, Willa Eigo, and Bonnie Beus Romney
Photo by John Groseclose

highlights from local critics reviews - (click link at bottom of each review to read complete review)

Click here for more information on this production that runs through October 17

"Jonathan Spector's Eureka Day is an intriguing play that explores the often combative debate over childhood vaccinations through a group of parents and school administrators whose differing beliefs bring questions of parental responsibility, scientific evidence, and community accountability to the forefront. The cast of Stray Cat Theatre's production does an excellent job breathing life into the play's varied characters, portraying their conflicting perspectives, personal convictions, and emotional struggles with authenticity and nuance. As the views of the character's collide, the play challenges audiences to consider how fear, trust, misinformation, and deeply held convictions shape decisions that can affect far more than one family while also encouraging audiences to examine their own beliefs."   - Gil Benbrook, TalkinBroadway.com (click here to read the complete review)

"As our society confronts multi-faceted challenges, the problems invite a variety of possible answers.  Because complex issues often have multiple solutions debates begin as people fall sway to specific responses that result in heated discussions. Playwright Jonathan Spector explores this debate with sharp wit and clever arguments in his Tony Award-winning play “Eureka Day.”  Stray Cat Theatre is presenting the play’s local premiere in what unfortunately is one of the troupe’s weakest presentations.  The plodding production staged by Louis Farber muddles the play as it meanders instead of becoming a gripping and stimulating piece that brings Spector’s play to vibrant life.  Most distressing in this mediocre production is an acting ensemble who, with only one exception, fails to make Spector’s rich dialogue understandable."    -Chris Curcio, Curtain Up Phoenix (click here to read the complete review)

" Some of the humor lands exactly where you expect it to. But the writer’s observations, coupled with (Louis)  Farber’s sure handling of an excellent Stray Cat ensemble keep the satire from settling too comfortably into anything resembling superiority. The real drama is in what happens when beliefs become inseparable from personal identity....Stray Cat Theatre’s incisive production of EUREKA DAY offers no convenient prescription. Instead, it leaves you with the uncomfortable business of deciding what it means to listen when listening alone is no longer enough."   - David Appleford, Broadway World (click here to read the complete review)

Cast announced for EUREKA DAY at Stray Cat Theatre

CLICK HERE for more information on this production, which runs October 9-17

Auditions for EUREKA DAY and INFINITE LIFE at Stray Cat Theatre announced for August 17

 

EUREKA DAY

by Jonathan Spector

directed by Louis Farber

Tempe Center for the Arts Studio Theatre

October 9 - 17, 2026

TWO WEEKEND ENGAGEMENT ONLY

AND

INFINITE LIFE

by Annie Baker

directed by Jodie Weiss

Tempe Center for the Arts Studio Theatre

December 11 - 19, 2026

TWO WEEKEND ENGAGEMENT ONLY

WHEN/WHERE:

Monday, August 17th, 2026 - 6pm - 10pm

MAIN STREET CREATIVE ARTS CENTER

933 E Main St

Mesa, AZ 85203

Callbacks will be on Tuesday the 18th in the evening for EUREKA DAY and on Wednesday the 19th in the evening for INFINITE LIFE

ROLES AVAILABLE:

EUREKA DAY

2-3M, 3-4F

DON: Late 50s, early 60s. White. Head of the school. A calming presence.

SUZANNE: Mid 50s. White. Warm and gracious.

CARINA: Early 40s. Black or biracial. A joiner. Grew up overseas. 

MEIKO: Mid 30s. Asian or biracial. Berkley native. Wry sense of humor.

ELI: Mid 30s. White. Jewish. Oblivious but well-meaning.

WINTER: Open age, Black or biracial. A parent. New to the school.

NOTE: All ages and ethnicities are suggested by the script to reflect the diversity that defines the school.

INFINITE LIFE

5F, 1M

SOFI: 40s, lives in Los Angeles, California. The play's fulcrum. She is separated, extraordinarily vulnerable, and highly neurotic.

EILEEN: 70s, lives in Wichita, Kansas. A deeply warm and somewhat supernatural presence. Provides moments of physical comfort and spiritual healing to the other characters. 

ELAINE: 60s, lives in Dublin, New Hampshire. A veteran of the clinic who navigates the agonizing reality of the physical body. 

GINNIE: 60s, lives in Rio Vista, California. Witty and outspoken, she actively engages in the philosophical debates about physical trauma and relationships.

YVETTE: 60s, 70s, lives in Midland, Michigan. A poised and grounding figure who provides wisdom to the younger Sofi and balances the group's discussions. 

NELSON: 40s, lives in San Francisco., California. The sole man in the group. A finance bro with colon cancer. In an open marriage. Acts as a confessor and object of desire.

PLEASE PREPARE: 

Prepared sides from the script - will be emailed to you upon scheduling your audition.

TO SCHEDULE AN AUDITION:

PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL TO rmay@straycattheatre.org WITH THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:

1. NAME 

2. PHONE NUMBER

3. CHARACTER(S) YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED FOR

4. A WINDOW OF TIME YOU WOULD PREFER. PLEASE KEEP IN MIND ALL AUDITIONS ARE ON A FIRST COME, FIRST SCHEDULED BASIS IN 5 MINUTE INCREMENTS. WE WILL DO OUR BEST TO ADHERE TO YOUR WISHES.

YOU WILL RECEIVE A CONFIRMATION EMAIL WITH:

1. IMPORTANT INFORMATION

2. SIDE(S) TO PREPARE FOR YOUR AUDITION

3. A LINK TO AN AUDITION FORM TO COMPLETE BEFORE ARRIVAL

4. AN AUDITION TIME SLOT 

ANY QUESTIONS: rmay@straycattheatre.org

PAY: There is a stipend for all actors cast as well as for understudies.

ABOUT THE SHOWS:

EUREKA DAY

Winner of the 2025 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play! 

The Eureka Day School in Berkeley, California, is a bastion of progressive ideals: representation, acceptance, social justice. But when a mumps outbreak threatens the Eureka community, facts become subjective and every solution divisive, leaving the school’s leadership to confront the central question of our time: How do you build consensus when no one can agree on truth?

“…Critic’s Pick! “[A] lively portrait... The perfect play for our age of disagreement.” – The New York Times

INFINITE LIFE

The newest play from the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer of Stray Cat favorites THE FLICK, JOHN, and THE ANTIPODES. 

INFINITE LIFE focuses on five women – four of them in their 60s, one 47 – and one middle aged man - staying at a health retreat in northern California. This surprisingly funny new play is an inquiry into the complex experience of pain - our own and each other’s - and how we collectively and independently navigate suffering.

“An undeniably important and timely work... often mesmerizing and undeniably audacious.” – The Guardian See less

EUREKA DAY - Stray Cat Theatre - October 9 - 17, 2026

   

by Jonathan Spector

directed by Louis Farber

Tempe Center for the Arts Studio Theatre

TWO WEEKEND ENGAGEMENT ONLY

Winner of the 2025 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play! 

The Eureka Day School in Berkeley, California, is a bastion of progressive ideals: representation, acceptance, social justice. But when a mumps outbreak threatens the Eureka community, facts become subjective and every solution divisive, leaving the school’s leadership to confront the central question of our time: How do you build consensus when no one can agree on truth?

“…Critic’s Pick! “[A] lively portrait... The perfect play for our age of disagreement.” – The New York Times

CLICK HERE for more information, and to purchase tickets, when available

INFINITE LIFE - Stray Cat Theatre - December 11 - 19, 2026

by Annie Baker

directed by Jodie Weiss

Tempe Center for the Arts Studio Theatre

TWO WEEKEND ENGAGEMENT ONLY

The newest play from the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer of Stray Cat favorites THE FLICK, JOHN, and THE ANTIPODES. INFINITE LIFE focuses on five women – four of them in their 60s, one 47 – and one middle aged man - staying at a health retreat in northern California. This surprisingly funny new play is an inquiry into the complex experience of pain - our own and each other’s - and how we collectively and independently navigate suffering.

“An undeniably important and timely work... often mesmerizing and undeniably audacious.” – The Guardian

CLICK HERE for more information, and to purchase tickets, when available

DOWNSTATE - Stray Cat Theatre - February 12 - 20, 2027

by Bruce Norris

directed by Ron May

TWO WEEKEND ENGAGEMENT ONLY

In downstate Illinois, at a group home for registered sex offenders, four men are living with the realities of post-incarcerated life when a man shows up to confront the piano teacher convicted of abusing him as a child. Question is, does he want closure or retribution? The New York Times hailed DOWNSTATE as, “…the kind of play that takes over your body gradually. Its tension seeps into your limbs, settles tautly in your solar plexus and does not leave.”

“[DOWNSTATE is] a stunning demonstration of the power of narrative art to tackle a taboo, to compel us to look at a controversial topic from novel perspectives. …proof positive that you can love a play that turns you inside out." - The Washington Post

CLICK HERE for more information, and to purchase tickets, when available

TEETH - Stray Cat Theatre - April 30 - May 15, 2027

book and music by Anna K. Jacobs

book and lyrics by Michael R. Jackson

directed by Ron May

Tempe Center for the Arts Studio Theatre

The new coming of rage musical comedy.

Based on the cult classic film of the same name, this savagely entertaining new musical conjures the legend of Dawn O’Keefe - an evangelical Christian teen with a powerful secret not even she understands – when men violate her, her body bites back. Literally. Michael R. Jackson (A STRANGE LOOP) and Anna K. Jacobs’ “brilliant and incendiary” theatrical adaptation explores teenage sexual desire, the dangers of an oppressive purity culture and what happens when myth becomes reality.

“A gory blast! A bloody, bawdy musical... with banging songs.” – Vulture

CLICK HERE for more information, and to purchase tickets, when available

Review Highlights: ANGELS IN AMERICA: MILLENIUM APPROACHES - Stray Cat Theatre

Marshall Glass and Nathan Spector
Photo by John Groseclose

 

highlights from local critics reviews - (click link at bottom of each review to read complete review)

Click here for more information on this production that runs through May 16

"One of the most epic and impressive plays of the 20th century, Tony Kushner's two-part opus, Angels in America, won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama as well as two Best Play Tony Awards. Set in 1990s America as the new millennium approaches, Kushner's drama focuses on a small group of interconnected individuals living in New York City as the AIDS epidemic rages. It's an engaging drama full of intriguing yet flawed characters but also, at over six hours long and in two parts, it's a bear of a piece for any theatre company to take on. Based on the first part of Kushner's piece, Millennium Approaches, which opened this weekend, Stray Cat Theatre is more than up to the task of presenting both pieces (the second part opens this coming week), with a superb production that features a fantastic cast and succinct direction delivering a moving, immersive, and intimate exploration of this theatrical masterpiece."   - Gil Benbrook, TalkinBroadway.com (click here to read the complete review)

"Tony Kushner’s 1991 “Angels in America” is a massive two-part masterpiece that brilliantly describes the AIDS crisis that plagued the world before medications controlled the disease.  It views AIDS’s effects on a very diverse population.  Staging the work is a huge undertaking for any theater company so it is rarely performed....The Stray Cat Theatre’s marvelous version is a superlative staging in the gifted hands of director Ron May and a perfect cast of marvelous local performers who rise to the play’s tremendous challenges artfully. "    -Chris Curcio, Curtain Up Phoenix (click here to read the complete review)

Your first look at ANGELS IN AMERICA at Stray Cat Theatre

photos by John Groseclose 

CLICK HERE for more information on this production, which runs through May 16

Cast announced for ANGELS IN AMERICA at Stray Cat Theatre

 

Prior Walter - Marshall Glass

Louis Ironson - Nathan Spector

Joe Pitt - Devon Mahon

Harper Pitt - Courtney Weir

Hannah Pitt - Nina Miller

Roy Cohn - Louis Farber

Belize - Michael Thompson

Angel - Megan Holcomb

CLICK HERE for more information on this production, which runs May 1-16

Stray Cat Theatre announces 2026-2027 Silver Anniversary Season

 

EUREKA DAY

by Jonathan Spector

directed by Louis Farber

Tempe Center for the Arts Studio Theatre

October 9 - 17, 2026

TWO WEEKEND ENGAGEMENT ONLY

Winner of the 2025 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play! 

The Eureka Day School in Berkeley, California, is a bastion of progressive ideals: representation, acceptance, social justice. But when a mumps outbreak threatens the Eureka community, facts become subjective and every solution divisive, leaving the school’s leadership to confront the central question of our time: How do you build consensus when no one can agree on truth?

“…Critic’s Pick! “[A] lively portrait... The perfect play for our age of disagreement.” – The New York Times

INFINITE LIFE

by Annie Baker

directed by Jodie Weiss

Tempe Center for the Arts Studio Theatre

December 11 - 19, 2026

TWO WEEKEND ENGAGEMENT ONLY

The newest play from the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer of Stray Cat favorites THE FLICK, JOHN, and THE ANTIPODES. INFINITE LIFE focuses on five women – four of them in their 60s, one 47 – and one middle aged man - staying at a health retreat in northern California. This surprisingly funny new play is an inquiry into the complex experience of pain - our own and each other’s - and how we collectively and independently navigate suffering.

“An undeniably important and timely work... often mesmerizing and undeniably audacious.” – The Guardian

DOWNSTATE

by Bruce Norris

directed by Ron May

February 12 - 20, 2027

TWO WEEKEND ENGAGEMENT ONLY

In downstate Illinois, at a group home for registered sex offenders, four men are living with the realities of post-incarcerated life when a man shows up to confront the piano teacher convicted of abusing him as a child. Question is, does he want closure or retribution? The New York Times hailed DOWNSTATE as, “…the kind of play that takes over your body gradually. Its tension seeps into your limbs, settles tautly in your solar plexus and does not leave.”

“[DOWNSTATE is] a stunning demonstration of the power of narrative art to tackle a taboo, to compel us to look at a controversial topic from novel perspectives. …proof positive that you can love a play that turns you inside out." - The Washington Post

TEETH

book and music by Anna K. Jacobs

book and lyrics by Michael R. Jackson

directed by Ron May

Tempe Center for the Arts Studio Theatre

April 30 - May 15, 2027

The new coming of rage musical comedy.

Based on the cult classic film of the same name, this savagely entertaining new musical conjures the legend of Dawn O’Keefe - an evangelical Christian teen with a powerful secret not even she understands – when men violate her, her body bites back. Literally. Michael R. Jackson (A STRANGE LOOP) and Anna K. Jacobs’ “brilliant and incendiary” theatrical adaptation explores teenage sexual desire, the dangers of an oppressive purity culture and what happens when myth becomes reality.

“A gory blast! A bloody, bawdy musical... with banging songs.” – Vulture

CLICK HERE for more information, and to purchase tickets, when available

Please note: Titles and Dates subject to change

Review Highlights: HOW TO DEFEND YOURSELF - Stray Cat Theatre

Angelica Saario, Meghan Ramos, Payten Christopher McLeod,
Hanna Nur, Christine Ward, Griffin Slivka, and Mantra Rostami
Photo by John Groseclose

highlights from local critics reviews - (click link at bottom of each review to read complete review)

Click here for more information on this production that runs through February 28

"Stray Cat Theatre's thoughtfully cast production of Liliana Padilla's sometimes uncomfortable drama How to Defend Yourself grabs you with its emotional honesty. Set at a college self-defense class, the play brings together a group of young women and two male allies grappling with fear, anger, confusion, and resilience in the aftermath of a sexual assault on their campus. While I have a few small issues with the play, the ensemble approaches the difficult material with sensitivity and commitment in a smartly directed production that feels both intimate and unsettling."   - Gil Benbrook, TalkinBroadway.com (click here to read the complete review)

"probes a serious issue confronting our society – raping women.  Liliana Padilla’s 2019 play that premiered off-Broadway in 2023 deals with the shame of confronting such a violation as it challenges a recipient to resolve such a fate and move on with life....Christine Ward handles the instructor Brandi’s perspective with insightful directness.  Meghan Ramos tackles gun obsessed Diana with explosive dynamics, Mantra Rostami is the more introspective Mojdeh while Angelica Saario’s Nikki and Hanna Nur’s Kara are both inward and outward directed.  As the two men in the class, Payten Christopher McLeod’s Eggo and Griffin Slivka’s Andy expose the male perspective in candid discussions about forced and consensual sex."    -Chris Curcio, Curtain Up Phoenix (click here to read the complete review)

"The show’s physicality is its own kind of poetry: combative, well-choreographed, and unrelenting. Director Elizabeth Broeder creates a space where every gesture counts, where each sparring session risks tipping into revelation. Maren Maclean Mascarelli’s fight and intimacy coordination bring startling immediacy even to the most comic moments, including the hip-thrust maneuver that transforms assault into escape in a single muscular beat. It’s funny, yes, but it’s also an act of survival....not a play to dismiss. Its humor is sharp, its empathy genuine, and its refusal to package trauma into a neat moral lesson feels like a form of integrity."   - David Appleford, Broadway World (click here to read the complete review)

Your first look at HOW TO DEFEND YOURSELF at Stray Cat Theatre

photos by John Groseclose

CLICK HERE for more information on this production, which runs through February 28

Cast announced for HOW TO DEFEND YOURSELF at Stray Cat Theatre

 

BRANDI - Christine Ward

KARA - Hanna Nur 

MOJDEH - Mantra Rostami

DIANA - Meghan Ramos

NIKKI - Angelica Saario

ANDY - Griffin Slivka

EGGO - Payten McLeod

CLICK HERE for more information on this production, which runs Feburary 13-28

Review Highlights: REYKJAVÍK - Stray Cat Theatre

Ty Klassen and Aaron Cammack
Photo by John Groseclose

 

highlights from local critics reviews - (click link at bottom of each review to read complete review)

Click here for more information on this production that runs through December 20

"Steve Yockey's Reykjavík is an intriguing and often unsettling play set in Iceland's capital that presents a haunting collage of somewhat connected stories that are often shocking and also comical at times. The play is steeped in supernatural tension and Icelandic folklore, filled with eerie encounters, simmering dread, and moments that feel lifted from a dream, or actually a nightmare. Yockey's hallmark blend of dark humor, fantastical elements, and emotional unease are on full display and while it is disturbing at times and sometimes sexually graphic, with moments of violence, it is always fascinating. With an excellent cast and crisp direction, Stray Cat Theatre's production pulls the audience into the icy shadows of a city where myth and reality seem to merge and you never know what horror is waiting around the corner....While the play's stark sexual moments and persistent sense of foreboding may not appeal to everyone, Stray Cat's production of Reykjavík offers an experience that is chilling, mesmerizing, and deeply engaging. For fans of Yockey or for those who appreciate theatre that challenges, disturbs, and keeps you leaning forward in your seat, it is an intriguing work brought to life with admirable boldness."   - Gil Benbrook, TalkinBroadway.com (click here to read the complete review) 

"Stray Cat Theatre successfully tackles another thoughtful Steve Yockey play, “Reykjavik.”  As it unfolds, the piece explores a variety of episodes people face daily plus a dash of Icelandic folklore, Huldufolk, which means a hidden people or elves.  It is an intriguing and most unusual drama....the Stray Cat production is exquisitely presented.  Dori Brown’s stark white set perfectly captures the desolate Icelandic locale and Ron May’s thoughtful staging is designed to bring out every story facet with pointed urgency.  The production elements are complimented by a fine acting ensemble who bring rich characterizations to the many involved participants."    -Chris Curcio, Curtain Up Phoenix (click here to read the complete review)

"Stray Cat’s production team of Dori Brown’s scenic design, Joanna Emmott’s lights, Stacey Walston’s technical direction, and Pete Biss’s sound together give the play a charge that makes you want to sit forward in your seat. As directed by Ron May, it’s theater as amusement park ride: part scary, part funny, part “what the hell is going on here?” The structure is deliberately puzzling. And yet to its credit, for ninety minutes, no intermission, you’re rarely bored....This Stray Cat Theatre production helmed by May is like chasing the Northern Lights: half the time you’re staring at clouds, wondering why you bothered, and then, there it is; something shimmering, weird, and wonderful, and you’re suddenly glad you came."   - David Appleford, Broadway World (click here to read the complete review)

Your first look at REYKJAVÍK at Stray Cat Theatre

photos by John Groseclose

CLICK HERE for more information on this production, which runs through December 20