Asuncion (Play) Book

THE STORY: Edgar and Vinny are not racist. In fact, Edgar maintains a blog condemning American imperialism, and Vinny is three-quarters into a Ph.D. in Black Studies. When a young Filipina woman named Asuncion becomes their new roommate, the boys have a perfect opportunity to demonstrate how open-minded they truly are. Jesse Eisenberg's hilarious and heartbreaking play explores the complicated ways we exploit culture and politics for our own needs. An almost ridiculously enjoyable portrait of slacker trauma among would-be intellectuals in a tiny grungy off-campus apartment near a small-town New York university. Entire seasons have been known to fly by without a new playwright to celebrate. Now we have Jesse Eisenberg. - Newsday. Eisenberg draws his minutely observed characters with precision, honesty and grudging empathy, and he sets them into motion in hilarious effect with an undertone of sadness. - Vogue. On the surface, it plays like a farce, and in truth, Eisenbergs dialogue gets a lot of laughs. But there is also an underlying current of unease, of just-out-of-view maliciousness, that runs throughout the shows two acts. Brutal and brutally funny. - Entertainment Weekly. Mr. Eisenberg writes lively dialogue that strikes plenty of comic sparks. - NY Times. As he takes aim at know-it-alls who don't do anything, he proves himself a keen marksman when it comes to pot shots and punch lines. - NY Daily News. Eisenberg's tumbling, barbed dialogue and ability to keep his characters on the humane side of caricature are so economical and assured. - Time Out NY.