[On Stage]A Play for Perpetual Kidults... Laughing and Joking, Then Facing the Weight of Life

Classmates Reunited After 20 Years in ‘The Comeuppance’
A Generation Turning Forty After Columbine, 9/11, and Endless Wars
Jacobs-Jenkins, Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play

"Let's moon Christina. She'll totally freak out." "Why do we have to show our butts to Christina? That's ridiculous." "Because it'll blow her mind!"

The reason this kind of mischievous prank works is that they're high school friends reuniting after 20 years. Contrary to expectations, Christina reacts indifferently. When Francisco, who enters with her, jokes, "Did you work out? Looks pretty good~" at the sight of Emilio wiggling his exposed backside, Emilio sheepishly pulls his pants back up.

The atmosphere of "The Comeuppance," a play about men and women reuniting 20 years after graduating from high school, stays playful throughout. There are pranks and blunt jokes; when someone makes a bad joke or says something pointless, a friend beside them shouts "neck slice!" while pretending to choke. Recalling their youthful, foolish behavior makes their faces flush with embarrassment—but then laughter erupts as they remember, "That really was a cute, beautiful time."

Theater performance scene from "The Comeuppance." Theater troupe Babas Circus X Project Kijigae.

However, the passage of time has left a scar on those beautiful school days that can never be erased. Emilio, Caitlin, Ursula, Christina, and Francisco—the five classmates—are reuniting in 2022, 20 years after graduation.

They graduated from high school in 2002. While in school, they endured the shock of the Columbine High School massacre (1999) and the 9/11 terrorist attacks (2001) that rocked US society. By the time they graduated college and entered the workforce, they faced the chaos of the global financial crisis (2008).

Looking back, it's hard not to complain. "Columbine, 9/11, war, war, more war, and then Trump, and then COVID, and now the Supreme Court even overturned the right to abortion. All these things have happened in a single lifetime just as we've reached forty."

Ursula lost her grandmother to COVID-19. Despite his bold, confident demeanor, Francisco suffers from serious post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to the horrific memories of his deployment during the Iraq War.

The playwright, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, was born in 1984, making him roughly the same age as the characters. The dialogue is vivid, as if drawn straight from his own life.

"Do you remember the Columbine shooting? After that happened, everyone suddenly started being nice to Huey. It's like everyone got scared." "I think that was just you." "No! Everybody was trembling! He totally gave off a Columbine vibe. He was exactly that type."

What have those painful memories from their youth left them with? Did these classmates grow and mature through their ordeals? Their conversations as people in their forties are tinged with cynicism toward the world. There is also criticism of American society today, marked by deepening political polarization. Caitlin's husband is a Trump supporter. Emilio pointedly says to her, "Your ultra-right-wing conspiracy theorist husband." Caitlin, embarrassed, hesitates and says, "My husband might be a Trump supporter, but it's not like he stormed the Capitol or anything," trying to defend him in a roundabout way.

Stage scene from the play 'The Comeuppance'. Theater company Babacircus X Project Kijae.

The playwright urges us to remember death. In addition to the five classmates, there is another, hidden presence on stage: "Death" itself. Death takes turns possessing each of the five characters, making its presence felt. Whenever death takes over one character, the others freeze as if time has stopped, adding a theatrical twist. Only the one possessed by death is able to move and address the audience directly.

Right after the play begins, death, having possessed Emilio, delivers its first chilling line to the audience in the form of a joke. "Oh! Hello. We've met before... but you probably don't remember." The eerie lines continue: "When people see me once, they do everything they can to forget, as if nothing ever happened. Of course, that's never actually worked. It never lasts for long."

The reason death possesses human bodies is simple: for fun. "For some reason, I find these creatures endlessly fascinating. Watching these sophisticated machines that think they're acting on their own free will—it makes time fly by."

Just like the five classmates who throw playful jabs, Death, too, leaves the audience with a heartfelt plea at the end. "People often think my work is a 'solution.' But that's just not true. If any of you are considering such a choice, or even feel that impulse for a moment, I'm begging you—please reconsider. That choice brings unimaginable anger and regret. Most of the time, if you can just get past the impulse, things will get better. Hold on. It will pass."

"The Comeuppance" is a play for those who are in their forties but still want to feel like teenagers—a story for adults who are kids at heart. It's boisterous and cheerful, but amid the laughter, certain lines shoot straight through you like a dagger.

Jacobs-Jenkins is a notable American playwright. At last year's Tony Awards, his play "Purpose" won Best Play, while the original musical "Maybe Happy Ending" won Best Musical. His other work, "Appropriate," received the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play at the 2024 ceremony.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.