'Disruption' Off-Broadway review — a grippingly unsettling dystopia set in the here and now

Read our review of Disruption off Broadway, a new tech thriller by Andrew Stein starring John David Washington, Conrad Ricamora, Elizabeth Stanley, and more.

Summary

• Disruption follows a group of friends whose lives are affected by an algorithm that unknowingly influences their major life decisions
• The show features a strong ensemble cast and a dystopian sense of dread that keeps the play gripping throughout
• The show is recommended for fans of TV shows like Black Mirror and The White Lotus; of dystopian fiction; and of other recent AI-centered plays like Data; McNEAL; and Scarlett Dreams

The word “seduce” comes up repeatedly throughout Andrew Stein’s new tech thruller play Disruption. The concept does apply in the biblical sense: The group of seven friends at its center, six of whom are paired off into married couples, have had some sexual crossover through the years. But that specific word is more often used in reference to lone-wolf tech entrepreneur Nick (John David Washington) and his unnerving new algorithm, which he claims knows enough about his friends to guide them toward true happiness. The part he leaves out — or rather, which he doesn't even quite grasp yet — is that it'll do that guiding whether or not they decide to buy in.

Seduction's frequent association with sex makes it such a corporeal word, not merely an abstract one. That idea, of being overtaken in body and mind, is reinforced as Nick’s friends, one by one, do get seduced by his promises. It’s obvious to us, the audience, when it happens: Glowing circles and flashy projections (by video designer Yana Biryükova) appear when the characters act in accordance with the algorithm. For the characters, the crossover between digital influence and their own human will is much less clear.

What we are left to wonder is whether these characters would have made the life choices they do without technological meddling. From the first scene, it’s apparent that Jill (Elizabeth Stanley) and Paul’s (Joe Tippett) marriage is strained — is the algorithm’s suggestion of divorce so implausible? Maybe not. The suggestion that the childless-by-choice Ben (Conrad Ricamora) and Suzie (Shaunette Renée Wilson) have a kid to save their own, less obvious marriage issues, maybe yes. The three couples fall on an easy-to-hard spectrum when it comes to being influenced, which Nick, his ruthless business partner and operational mastermind Raven (Emma Kikue), and the AI itself take as a series of challenges. (Mia and Barry, debating whether to buy an over-budget brownstone, fall in the middle. Irene Sofia Lucio and Jason Ralph round out the all-around strong ensemble as this least dysfunctional couple.)

In its more contrived moments, Disruption plays not unlike a satire, using the most extreme of examples as a cautionary tale about letting trust in, or passive acceptance of, data-mining technology erode our own critical thinking skills. Hersh Ellis's direction keeps the play from veering totally into broad satire, but there is plenty of poison-dart humor. Ellis effectively stokes an undercurrent of dread in the whole thing, one that propels the play even when the pacing or writing falter. That dread doesn't let up even after the final moment.

Which is odd, because most of the characters land on their feet in the end, right? There's merriment all around at the boozy housewarming party in the final scene, which parallels the lavish dinner party at which Nick first introduced his algorithm. Nevermind that two characters are conspicuously absent from the reunion. The women, originally Nick-skeptic, are living free and easy, albeit still as the butts of jokes about their past selves. The men, more quickly seduced from the get-go, have been validated with material rewards to spare.

And there it is again: the technological becoming tangible. Throughout the play, the characters' discussions of the algorithm are punctuated by physical touchpoints: a cardboard coffee cup, a ceramic tea mug, a game of catch with a football, a lavishly laden dinner table. Indeed, Disruption's program art depicts a classic still life, all candles and fruits and flowers — and a phone emitting a blinding white light. Even when the characters feel like their world is tangible and in their control, a watchful digital eye silently lurks. And the opposite proves true, too, as the play ends with a final cry of humanity that proves the only thing more piercing than the tech.

Disruption summary

Tech entrepreneur Nick gathers his three best friends and their wives to reveal his latest invention: an algorithm designed to help them make the life choices that will lead them to happiness. The meeting is actually a kind of beta test, identifying Nick's friends as prime subjects to succumb to the algorithm's influence — and to see whether Nick and his business partner, Raven, can more actively manipulate the group's lives for the sake of "happiness" from there. Soon, though, the tech advances beyond everyone's grasp, even Nick's, and changes their lives in consequential ways.

What to expect at Disruption

Audiences at Disruption are seated on two sides of the stage, and the cast, fortunately, plays well to both sides. They perform on Zoë Hurwitz's tunnel of a set with reflective black walls — a literal black mirror. It creates a fishbowl effect for the actors and a surveillance effect for you. Through the tunnel, it feels as though you're looking at your fellow audience members on a giant screen. Even for the 2 hours our phones are off (excluding the intermission), we can still be watched at all times.

What audiences are saying about Disruption

Disruption is receiving mixed reviews from audiences, with some criticizing the writing and pacing but most theatregoers praising the performances, the topical themes, and how the design pulls audiences close to the action.

• "Disruption may feel a bit "obvious" at times regarding the direction in which it is going, but perhaps this timely commentary about how we allow too much technology into our lives as observer, recorder, and even decision-maker (it disrupts reality and humanity, sometimes at high costs) is only obvious because it feels so familiar." - Show-Score user GirlFriday
• "Strong acting by the whole ensemble - John David Washington and Joe Tippett were standouts but always appreciate the talents of Elizabeth Stanley (missed her singing) and Conrad Ricamora. Show felt less like a future of AI then [sic] what is happening already." - Mezzanine user Alison R
• "I was blown away. The staging, actors, dialogue, etc. Well done!! It was art/life imitating art/life." - Reddit user u/Sad_Eagle534
• "I was very excited for it, but it unfortunately fell a little flat for me. The first half was way too slow and I was wanting more to happen. After intermission, it picked up more but the pacing overall needs work [...] ’m not sure if Disruption really had much to say on the topic [of AI]." - Reddit user u/toadstoolcafe
• "I sat in the last row but the stage isn't that elevated so I think front row is fine. You may not see the full projections but I don't think it's a dealbreaker; a lot of times it's just code or circles where the actors are standing though there are two instances, I think, where the text is relevant. I would think you'd still be able to see it though." - Reddit user u/kurenai8

Read more audience reviews of Disruption on Show-Score.

Who should see Disruption

• Fans of other recent tech thrillers on NYC stages, including Data, McNEAL, Scarlett Dreams, and the currently running Black Mirror Experience, will want to see Disruption's take on the contentious relationship between humanity and AI.
• Disruption is a dark-streaked story centered on the ultra-rich, punctuated by spiky humor. It's a tonal balance that brings the Knives Out films and The White Lotus to mind.
• Fans of dystopian fiction will be interested in Disruption, which doesn't take place in some futuristic society but in the here and now. Sometime during the show, my mind went to Ursula K. LeGuin's short story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," about a society that flourishes at the expense of one suffering child. Many characters at least appear to thrive by the end of Disruption — but at an unthinkable cost to the ones who don't.

Learn more about Disruption off Broadway

Stein's tale of a silent-but-deadly algorithm plays out like a bonafide Black Mirror episode, and it's bolstered by an excellent cast of stage and screen stalwarts. Don't leave the decision to AI: Let me, a human, tell you it's worth checking out.

Learn more and get Disruption tickets on New York Theatre Guide. Disruption is at the Pershing Square Signature Center through September 27.

Photo credit: Disruption off Broadway. (Photos by Emilio Madrid)