Very Blue Light.

We came out of Very Blue Light at The Tank asking a fairly basic question: how different would our experience have been if we had closed our eyes and just listened? There are good actors, interesting subjects, and some lovely lighting and sound here. But for much of the evening, we felt closer to listening to a radio play or a podcast than watching people live through something in front of us.

Written by Daphne Silbiger and directed by Emily Moler, the play brings together four young people at a cabin in the woods, with one visiting old school friends after a long time apart. Acceptance and the rights of trans people are among its big topics, with particular attention to the experience of the main character, Magna, played well by Dom Martello. All four characters are clearly trying to navigate the complex modern world of social media algorithms and divisive political opinions. It is a quiet setting for some substantial conversations. Across its 90 minutes, there are worthwhile moments and little sparks of emotion, but our interest in the ideas did not consistently translate into being caught up in the action.

Our main difficulty was how static it felt. People stood and talked, sat and talked, and occasionally moved to another chair to keep talking. Someone might leave, allowing a different combination of people to react to each other, but that did not change the rhythm very much. We understood that this was a visit to somebody’s home rather than a situation full of obvious activity. Still, we were missing the ordinary life that might happen around those conversations.

The dialogue often came across as a series of long speeches rather than an active exchange. It felt like one person had a page to say, then it was somebody else’s turn for their page, with everyone listening in between. These are big topics, and there is certainly room for them in theater. For us, though, the extended turns at speaking made it harder to stay involved, especially when there was so little else happening onstage.

The guacamole became a very practical example. A character goes off to make it, then comes back. Why not make it in front of us while the conversation continues? We were not asking for some enormous event or an elaborate piece of staging. Even preparing food would have given the characters something to do together and made the visit feel more real. Instead, an opportunity for everyday activity was happening just out of sight.

Then there were the cards. Playing a game is actually suggested, and the suggestion is turned down. We found ourselves thinking, yes, please play cards! The same conversation could have continued around the game. We also talked afterward about a barbecue, or even something as simple as cleaning a chair. Not because any one of those things would automatically solve the play, but because we wanted to see these people doing something besides waiting for their next turn to speak.

That feeling extended to a relationship development between two characters, which happens offstage and is discussed afterward. We did not need to see the intimate act itself. What we wanted was more of an onstage connection to make the development feel real, rather than simply arriving at the next morning and hearing about what happened. It was another instance where we felt we were being told about an event rather than sharing enough of the experience.

None of that takes away from the great work of the cast. Dom Martello, Sam Im, Ellenor Riley-Condit, and Anita Parrott handle a substantial amount of dialogue very well. Our frustration was not that they could not deliver the material. There were emotional moments that worked nicely, particularly when characters made mistakes and then had to recover from them. Those moments gave us something more immediate to connect with, and we appreciated the people coming through alongside the discussion.

The clear highlight for us was the sequence in which two characters go looking for aliens. Suddenly, there was more to watch and experience. The lighting and the way the sequence was put together gave it a cinematic feeling, and a world seemed to build around the performers. This was the part that most fully held our attention, and it stood out sharply from the stretches of people sitting around talking.

Interestingly, the performers were relatively still during that sequence, too. So our wish for more action was not really a demand that everyone keep moving. Here, even without much physical movement, it felt as though something was happening around them. That distinction mattered to us. The sequence showed how stillness could work when the surrounding stage world gave us a reason to keep looking, rather than leaving nearly everything to the words.

Another highlight was the transitions between scenes. Glued to their smartphones, the characters moved around the stage like robots, lit only by the glow of their device screens. We liked this playful way of showing the reality of modern life.

Lighting designers Jiahao (Neil) Qiu and Elijah Thomas deserve a mention here, because the lighting was one of the elements we especially liked. Its contribution to the alien-search sequence was memorable, and our appreciation went beyond that scene. Ari Cleveland’s sound design was another strong part of the evening.

We also liked Raphael Mishler’s set overall, but there was a practical problem that distracted us from the beginning. The wooden structure the actors sat and moved on creaked and banged as they shifted around. In a production so dependent on listening, those noises were particularly noticeable. It was unfortunate that the physical movement we wanted more of was also drawing our attention for the wrong reason whenever the structure made itself heard.

We know that people sitting around talking can be compelling. We discussed that afterward, too, and this is not a complaint about conversation itself. Usually, though, there is something people are reacting to or some sense of life around the exchange. Here, too much rested on whether we were deeply connected to the subject being discussed. Other viewers may find that connection more readily and get much more out of the evening.

For us, Very Blue Light had good performances, appealing design work, and a standout sequence that showed what the production could do. We enjoyed those sparks and wished there had been more of them. Ultimately, we wanted the interesting ideas to share the stage with more activity, more connection, and more everyday life. We could hear the conversation clearly. We just wanted more reasons to keep our eyes open.