Will Arbery depicts yet another group of teary-eyed souls dealing with loss and doubt in Heroes of the Fourth Turning at Playwrights Horizons. This Chekhovian bunch has gathered together to mourn the absence of a cherished past but feel powerless to move forward, sorta like the folks in The Cherry Orchard. They are recent graduates of a conservative Catholic university in Wyoming attending a celebration of their former professor’s promotion to president. Each longs for the security of the campus and certainty of their Christian faith and traditional values in an uncertain and increasingly liberal society. Abortion, LGBT issues, racism, terrorism, Trump, and much more are all addressed.
Arbery introduces right-wing viewpoints not usually encountered on New York stages and creates complex, ambiguous personalities rather than representatives of perspectives. That said, the playwright lays on the symbolism thickly at times—the lights go out at irregular points and plunge everyone in the dark, and a deafening cacophony erupts from a broken-down generator as they speak past each other. But the dialogue is startlingly intelligent and these are real people. You may not agree with what they have to say, but you can understand their position (thanks to the author) and emotions (thanks to a precise job by director Danya Taymor and the empathetic five-person cast).
Zoe Winters is burningly intense as a fast-taking ideologue. Jeb Kraeger achingly suppresses his emotions, while John Zdrojeski and Julia McDermott let them spill out with eloquent force. Michele Pawk is devastatingly sharp as the Peggy Noonan-ish university president.
The title, Heroes of the Fourth Turning, refers to historians William Strauss and Neil Howe’s book that theorizes America is headed for a crisis or “turning.” Arbery has skillfully crafted a moving, disturbing portrait of a massive turning of our nation and five of its citizens.
