Allegations of medical advice turned fatal threaten to destroy TV’s most beloved physician in Eliza Clark’s Quack, a Center Theatre Group World Premiere that proves as hilarious as it is timely as it is button-pushing and thought-provoking.

 No, the MD in question isn’t either Dr. Phil or Oz, but it might as well be, such is the fame of Dr. Irving Baer (Dan Bucatinsky), whose afternoon talk show has made him rich, renowned, and until now revered by his 90%-female audience.

Unfortunately for Irving. the good doc now finds himself accused of contributing to the deaths of two small children who contracted measles after their mothers took his reluctance to come out against anti-vaxxers as a reason not to immunize, charges that now form a major part of an eleven-page exposé gone viral.

 Not to worry, counsels Kelly (Jackie Chung), Dr. Baer’s onetime assistant turned segment producer, an opinion most definitely not shared by Irving’s entrepreneur wife Meredith (Jessalyn Gilsig), enraged that the article’s brief mention of her diet empire could well put the “Mer Baer” brand at risk.

Worse still, the writer of the article, a certain River Thumble (Shoniqua Shandai), is making the cable news circuit, thereby spiraling Irving into a panic mode and the scandal surrounding him into one of epic proportions with new accusations emerging on a daily basis.

 A meeting with River herself doesn’t help matters. Her article was well-sourced, she maintains, it was fact-checked, and if her assertions sting, Dr. Baer does after all give medical advice without individual consultations, just one reason a full-length book is next on River’s agenda (or vendetta as the case may be).

 It’s not long before Nurse Kelly has taken over as host, prompting Irving to turn to the one person who might just offer hope of vindication, a certain Brock Silver (Nicholas D’Agosto), whose online forum caters to men who find themselves “victimized” by the women’s movement and now see Irving as their latest fellow casualty.

If it’s not already obvious, it’s hard to imagine a more of-the-moment play than Quack.

 The term “witch hunt” gets bandied about as Dr. Baer finds himself judged guilty until proven innocent. Characters onstage and off seek not just their requisite fifteen minutes of fame but as much as they can muster. “Facts” get believed without questioning the legitimacy of the source. An anti-feminist backlash has Silver’s espousal of “traditional values” finding a more than willing male audience.

All this adds up to a play guaranteed to keep you glued to the edge of your seat throughout its intermissionless hour and fifty-five minutes, not one of which needs to be cut.

Clark’s writing is incisive, funny as all get-out, and dramatic when the situation warrants, Neel Keller directs with razor sharpness, and you won’t find a snappier ensemble in town, beginning with Bucatinsky’s bravura, never-leaves-the-stage star turn as Irving, charismatic, self-involved, caustic, neurotic, and the personification of privilege granted to those who are male, moneyed, and white,

 the latter making director Keller and casting director Andrew Lynford, CSA’s decision to cast Kelly and River with actors of color a particularly savvy choice, one rewarded by Chung’s painfully self-effacing Kelly, a caterpillar just busting to break out of her cocoon, and Shondai’s cool cookie of a River, whose waters run deep indeed.

Gilsig ignites the stage as the stiletto-heeled, potty-mouthed Meredith, who’s got more than enough reason to gripe, and casting boy-next-door D’Agosto as the male chauvinist Brock proves inspired, making it easier to see how his inflammatory words could appeal to a beleaguered Irving.

 Scenic designer Dane Laffrey has created a meticulously detailed office set whose ever-increasing clutter provides ample reason to ooh and aah in wonder, and Raquel Barreto’s costumes, Elizabeth Harper’s lighting, Robin E. Broad’s sound design, and Michael K. Hooker’s original music are every bit as terrific.

Maggie Swing is production stage manager. Cate Cundiff is stage manager. Lindsay Allbaugh is associate producer.

I absolutely loved Eliza Clark’s Future Thinking when it world premiered at South Coast Rep a couple years back, and Quack is every bit the winner. Expect to be thinking and talking about Dr. Irving Baer long after the spotlight Clark shines on him fades to black.

Kirk Douglas Theatre, 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City.
www.centertheatregroup.org

–Steven Stanley
October 28, 2018
Photos: Craig Schwartz Photography

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Tags: Center Theatre Group, Eliza Clark, Kirk Douglas Theatre, Los Angeles Theater Review