“Smart People” – now playing at Arena Stage (Review)

I can probably bet that you think you’re one of the ‘Smart People’ in your circle. That fact is, most of us are. And that is part of what makes Lydia R. Diamond’s Smart People, now playing at Arena’s Kreeger Theater, so intriguing… relative… and well, SMART!

Grab your seats. It takes a small amount of patience as the four characters begin to reveal themselves and their thoughts to you in a ways that’s so very connected yet so individualized.

Directed by Seemo Sueko, with seamless execution and a meticulousness of the greats, it was challenging to decipher if there were a ‘main’ character. And further, even more so of whom that would be since each of the actors delivered such strong performances. I encourage your learn more about Sueko to understand why she was chosen to direct this play and all of what she has to bring.

And it shows us all the humanity, in well, us all. That even though we may have huge success in certain areas of our lives and maybe even have accumulated certain wealth or people skills, none of us are perfect. Yes, none of us are completely exempt from the groupthink of the cultural biases that we live and operate in. With a backdrop of 2008’s US Presidential election, race, esteem, sex, romance, abandonment and living a life of purpose are all hand carried to each audience member’s lap.

Indeed, if you see yourself as one of the Smart People in your circle, then you should be able to relate to these four brave and very human souls. And that relation, will have you examining your actions and motives that drive them. Should you do this, Smart People will not only entertain you, but teach you as well.

Go see Smart People. Go SEE yourself and see FOR yourself.

Advisory: Mature content with respect to language, topics and adult relations.

Smart People plays through May 21, 2017, at Arena Stage – 1101 Sixth Street, SW, in Washington, DC. For tickets, call the box office at (202) 488-3300, or purchase them online.

Running Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes, with an intermission.