Off-B'way Review: Data

Sophia Lillis, Karan Brar, and Justin H. Min
in Data.
Credit: T. Charles Erickson

Matthew Libby’s Data could have easily become like one of those made-for-streaming spy thrillers in which attractive young techies steal vital software and wind up running through the streets of LA or London after bedding each other. But what the playwright delivers is a thoughtful, complex work exploring scary issues of government overreach and technological eradication of human rights. With the inflammatory national debate over immigration raging on our streets, Data is an important and gripping indictment of the Trump administration’s authoritarian policies and the digital industry’s complicity.

We begin innocently and almost comically with low-level programmers Maneesh and Jonah playing ping pong in the break room of the giant programming corporation Athena. They are interrupted by Riley who works on the higher-up Data Analytics team. At first Libby seems to be steering us into rom-com territory with the alpha-dog Jonah moving in on the aloof Riley—who isn’t interested—and Maneesh attempting to minimize his college relationship with her. (Libby confounds our expectations with dexterity, casually revealing Maneesh is gay and treating this information as a detail and not a vital plot development.) But as we learn more about the secret project Riley is working on and for which she wants to recruit Maneesh, the play takes on dark and dangerous dimensions. 

Karan Brar and Brandon Flynn in Data.
Credit: T. Charles Erickson

Both Libby and director Tyne Rafaeli ratchet up the tension as Maneesh is drawn into a web of moral ambiguity, made to seem attractive and reasonable by Athena executive and hot shot Alex. Libby adds shades of complexity, rendering the conflicts in shades of gray rather than black and white. Maneesh has developed an algorithm to predict unforeseen events in baseball. Athena, Alex and the government want to use his work in potentially discriminatory ways with regard to immigration. The fact that Alex is himself an immigrant from Singapore who has had difficult dealings with the US authorities and Maneesh’s status as the son of Indian immigrants adds to Libby’s layers. Without revealing any spoilers, each of the four characters has a stake in the outcome of Maneesh’s actions and Libby delineates all of them with depth and suspense.

Sophia Lillis and Brandon Flynn in Data.
Credit: T. Charles Erickson

The cast captures the conflicted motives of their characters. Karan Brar infuses Maneesh with an innocent drive to do the right thing and charts the painful struggle to find the right way to do it. Sophia Lillis delivers a dynamic portrayal of Riley’s frayed edges and jittery energy as she navigates the treacherous waters of self-preservation and moral ambiguity. Brandon Flynn expertly transforms Jonah from a swaggering tech bro to a sniveling toady when it suits his purposes. Justin H. Min gives Alex charisma and intelligence as well as a wily sense of justifying his questionable ethics. No one is a hero or villain here.

Rafaeli balances tension with humor, employing Marsha Ginsberg’s metal box of a set and Amith Chandrashaker’s noir-ish lighting to maximum effect. Characters skulk in corners and linger at the edges, scurrying to negotiate their way through Libby’s seemingly inescapable labyrinth of government and technological walls. Data is an exciting, frightening look at our increasingly tech-controlled world. 

Jan. 25—Feb. 21. Lucille Lortel Theatre, 121 Christopher St., NYC. Running time: one hour and 45 mins. with no intermission. datatheplay.com.