Arena Stage’s show DATA is a digital-age thriller that merges Ancient Greek philosophy with the freewheeling spirit of Silicon Valley. Gripping and electric, DATA is a prime example of why they call theater drama.
Maneesh (Karan Brar) is an extremely gifted, but anxious, computer programmer. A recent graduate, he has started working in the User Experience (UX) department of Athena Technologies- a leading tech firm. The show opens with his department mentor, Jonah (Stephen Cefalu, Jr.), giving advice to -or rather talking at- Maneesh and highlighting how successful Maneesh is. Jonah goes on to praise Maneesh and is surprised that he never received an interview for the more hands-on and prestigious Data Analytics department- a place Maneesh avoided applying for.
It’s at this moment that Riley (Isabel Van Natta), an engineer in Data Analytics and former classmate of Maneesh, bursts into the breakroom. She’s caught off-guard that there are other people there and in a high-stress state following the departure of someone from her department. Jonah, perpetually curious about the work that goes on in the notoriously secretive Data Analytics, presses her for details and reveals that Maneesh never got an interview. Riley is shocked by this and promises she’ll get Maneesh a sit-down with Data Analytics director Alex (Rob Yang) despite Maneesh’s protests.
Later, at the meeting, Maneesh is heavily recruited by Alex to switch to Data Analytics. Alex mentioned how Riley told him about Maneesh’s senior project which calculates the likelihood of rare events in baseball and how impressive he finds it. Alex asks why Maneesh hid it away behind a copyright instead of monetizing it. Maneesh explains that he worries that the code could be easily adapted for far less surface-level purposes such as predicting acts of terrorism or singling out potentially dangerous individuals.
Afterwards, he angrily questions Riley about revealing his project to Alex and asks why she felt so motivated to bring him on to Data Analytics. Riley explains that she’s trapped behind a non-disclosure agreement and can’t reveal her motives but that it’s incredibly important he accepts Alex’s offer to join. Despite Maneesh’s severe hesitations, he transfers to Data Analytics after facing pressure from his parents, Riley, and Alex.
After signing an NDA, Maneesh is briefed on what the company is building- a massive data-harvesting program devoid of morals and serving a single purpose. Furious with Riley for entangling him instead of letting him simply code in the UX department, he confronts her. “You don’t think you were already involved?” she asks him. Riley explains she has a plan to smash things wide open, but needs his help.
DATA delves heavily into whether we truly know ourselves and how much we know about others. Illustrative and multidimensional, playwright Matthew Libby and director Margot Bordelon go beyond making a simple statement about the intrusiveness of technology. Instead, they pursue a far trickier theme of how supportive we want our technology to be and whether it should be making decisions for us.
The cast of DATA is stellar. Karan Brar (Maneesh) recognizes that to make a character believable and sympathetic, it comes down to selling the small details which he does excellently. Stephen Cefalu, Jr.'s Jonah artfully merges a lazy and bumbling but ambitious mentor with a sentiment of superiority and petty vindictiveness. Isabel Van Natta (Riley) delivers a powerful portrayal of the show’s voice of reason. Rob Yang’s Alex captures the laid-back, seemingly uncaring nature of the Patagonia-vested tech bros that contrasts heavily with the high-stress and fast-moving nature of the intensity of their jobs.
DATA’s pumping techno-futuristic lights and sound express how society is careening towards a more digital world regardless of how people feel about it. Its conclusion leaves the audience to decide the progress that may or may not be made in the show, but also in the environment they live in. DATA’s setting and conflict are not new, but the themes and philosophy that are coupled with these are unique and captivating.
Arena Stage's DATA has a runtime of 90 minutes with no intermission.
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