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The cast of Zoetic Stage's "Wicked Child": Wayne LeGette, Margery Lowe, Ben Katz, Gracie Blu, Jeff Brackett, Michael McKeever and Jeni Hacker (Photo by Justin Namon)

Michelle F. Solomon, Editor/Theater Writer

The backstory lends some interest to the jaw-drop of timeliness felt while watching Zoetic Stage's world premiere of "Wicked Child," now in the Carnival Studio Theater at the Adrienne Arsht Center through Sunday, Jan. 28.

Miami native David Rosenberg wrote the first draft of the play in 2016. He says the inspiration came from growing up in a Jewish family and conversations about Middle East politics that brought to light how limited his knowledge was about never-ending conflicts there.

Flash forward to today, now, 2024, with minute-by-minute updates of Israel's war on Gaza after Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups breached the Gaza-Israel barrier, took hostages, and killed 1,139. It escalated turmoil in the Middle East, but has brought to stark light the gap both here and around the world over the collateral damages of war to the Palestinian people versus Israel's right to its military offensive in response.

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Ben Katz as Jake and Gracie Blu as his girlfriend Amelia in Zoetic Stage's world premiere of "Wicked Child." (Photo by Justin Namon)

"Wicked Child" is, yes, about a family whose differing views create the quintessential morality play, but at its core it could be any family discussing bi-partisan politics – let's say, a Republican uncle and his Democratic brother at a Sunday dinner table. However, Rosenberg makes the stakes so much higher.

A well-to-do Jewish couple lives in an expansive house in Rye, N.Y., in tony Westchester County. Program notes indicate that the setting is "about a 50 minute Metro ride north of New York City." Mark Silver (Michael McKeever) and his wife, Fay (Jeni Hacker) are hosting the annual Passover Seder. Invited for dinner are Fay's sister, Cindy, (Margery Lowe), her husband, Leo (Wayne LeGette) and two stepbrothers just starting in their adult lives. Cindy's son, Ben (Jeff Brackett) is working at a New York City law firm, while Leo's son, Jake (Ben Katz) is a writer. Also on the guest list is Jake's girlfriend of less than a year, Amelia (Gracie Blu), a podcaster with political opinions of her own.

When Ben makes a surprise announcement after returning from a Birthright trip, the family is thrust into questioning who they are, their trust in one another, and discovering truths they might not have wanted to know.

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Jeff Brackett as Ben and Margery Lowe as his mother, Cindy, in Zoetic Stage's "Wicked Child." (Photo by Justin Namon)

The play takes place over two years at a gathering in the Silver home and through two Passover Seders, a religious meal that marks the historical delivery of the Jewish people from Egyptian bondage. 

[RELATED: See Aaron Krause's preview story about the world premiere.]

Rosenberg's play was a bit of a happenstance discovery by Zoetic Stage when it received the script, then titled "Effect If Not Intent," as an entry into its Finstrom Festival call for plays in 2022.

One important point to note as a Miami theatergoer is how fortunate we are to be able to watch a work that has been developed right here. From words on a page to a process spearheaded by founding artistic director Meltzer into a full-fledged, top-notch production should not be lost on audiences. This adds an added introspective as "Wicked Child" unspools over an engrossing two hours.

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Jeni Hacker as Fay and Michael McKeever as her husband, Mark. (Photo by Justin Namon)

Rosenberg's smart script is made even more snappy with a cast that understands how to play both comedy and drama and who takes advantage of those moments to give the audience a breather from the heavier stuff.

McKeever's character, Mark, is also dealing with life-or-death health issues, which the actor navigates like the pro he is keeping it as an under-the-surface subplot that has ramifications in the family dynamic without it overshadowing the true crux of the play.

As Cindy, Margery Lowe is a doting Jewish mother. Caricature, yes, but never not believable. She wants to make sure her son has sun protection – clothes, a most important thing – when he's halfway around the world in the blazing desert. They'll need to go to White Plains to get him a big hat before he leaves, she tells him. And Lowe has a field day with the nuances Rosenberg gives her. When she tells her son after he's returned from a year away that he looks thin, he returns the sentiment telling her she does, too. Lowe takes a beat before thanking him for what she takes as a compliment. Again, craft and comic timing.

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Jeff Brackett and Ben Katz in a scene from the world premiere of Zoetic Stage's "Wicked Child" at the Adrienne Arsht Center through Sunday, Jan. 28. (Photo by Justin Namon)

LeGette does the most that he can with Leo, probably the most underdeveloped character in the script. He's the comforting dad, the dutiful husband, but there isn't much else we get from Leo.

Brackett as Ben and Katz as Jake easily move between their relationship of Act 1 "bros" to second act adversaries. Their believability of how each of their characters changes and grows in the course of the play and the push and pull they've created between each other is compelling to watch.

Hacker, who has proven time and time again that she can play just any role, brings a sensibility to Fay – who has a stake in this game yet neither of the children is her own flesh and blood. Hacker understands she's bound to the family by her sister, Cindy, and brings that front and center with Fay, while also showing strength in the character's beliefs. Her monologue in Act 2 is well written by Rosenberg and she takes every word to heart.

As the outsider girlfriend Amelia whose views are the ones that end up sparking the fire in the family, Gracie Blu never allows the character to be seen as a supporting afterthought. Amelia is essential to the storyline and Blu imbues the character to take that seriously.

There are a few kinks that may need to be worked out in a play that's just been developed. First, there's the choice of such a long playing area. The play begs for a bit more intimacy yet the setting somehow creates the audience to be removed from the action moreso watching not immersed.

At far "house left" is a platformed playing area of two bedrooms. They are used for scenes between Fay and Mark in one of the rooms and another for Amelia and Jake. The areas seem far away from the audience and the action.

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Wayne LeGette as Leo embraces Jeff Brackett as Ben while Ben Katz as Jake looks on. (Photo by Justin Namon)

Actors step down out of the bedrooms and into the larger playing area, which has a bar and a kitchen set up.

The center space is the dining room table set for Passover, which features a revolving turntable where. As the playing area moves it then stops; the audience is able to take in what's happening with a different character, their facial expressions, their interactions.

The playing area of a traverse stage, with the audience seated on two sides, is an interesting choice. This created a bit of a distraction on the minus side. I found myself watching the reactions of the audience members on the other side at pivotal moments when I wanted to be plunged mindfully into the onstage action. The plus is that it gave even more leverage to a play that relies on people ending up on opposite sides. A metaphor?

The long distance of the set also felt like many miles apart for the actors to have to navigate from the living room at "house right" to the other side of the space (the bar area, kitchen area, for instance) making it at times feel like watching a volley on a tennis court.

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Jeni Hacker as Fay tells Ben Katz as Jake how she feels about his views on Israel. (Photo by Justin Namon)

A confusing second-act scene, due to staging choices, is one over a telephone conversation between Amelia and Jake who have since broken up. Amelia is apparently in her New York apartment and gets a call from Jake, who is ringing her from the upstairs bedroom of the family home.

She is on her cell phone and comes into the scene below the stage's playing area. Using spotlights, the direction has her walking up into the home. It is apparent she is still supposed to be in her own apartment and we are expected to suspend disbelief. In low lighting with spotlights following, she engages in the telephone conversation with Jake, however,she's now pacing in different areas of the family living room. It's confusing. For a play that is so realistic, it is a mind meld and takes us out of the action.

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Jeff Brackett and Ben Katz play stepbrothers in David Rosenberg's "Wicked Child." (Photo by Justin Namon)

The scenic design by B.J. Duncan is impeccable and with properties designed by Natasha Hernandez, there's no doubt these folks could live and gather in this house. Becky Montero's lighting sets the tones for the highs and lows of the moods throughout the play. Laura Turnbull (usually in front of the stage not behind) created the costume design, and notably with the status wear Cindy is given, it is exactly right for her character.

Matt Corey's sound design, with its reflective music, is another tone-setter. Hacker is credited as intimacy director while Paul Homza was needed as fight choreographer for a scene where the two brothers exchange fisticuffs in a heated argument.

Rosenberg's play, which spends a good deal around Jewish traditions in the Seder ceremonies, can make those not familiar with the rituals feel like an outsider.

Their guest, Amelia, feels it and the others do welcome her in, but perhaps using that character to have the others explain a bit (not huge expository) could alleviate some of those among us who haven't grown up around the holiday from wanting to head off to gather information by Googling "seder rituals" at intermission.

Zoetic Stage and the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County will present “Wicked Child” from Jan. 11-28. The venue will be the Arsht Center’s intimate black box theater space. The address is 1300 Biscayne Blvd. in downtown Miami. Tickets to “Wicked Child” are $55 and $60. You can buy tickets at the box office, by calling (305) 949-6722, or online at arshtcenter.org. Zoetic Stage will continue its Second Sunday Talkback series immediately following the matinee performance on Sunday, Jan. 21.