Data Reviews

Washington Post- Recommended

"...“Data” takes place entirely at Athena HQ, as represented by designer Marsha Ginsberg’s open white shoebox of a set. The Apple-store-like space gets repurposed through frequent blackouts — scored by electronic dance music — as a breakroom with a ping-pong table and a broken espresso machine, a loading dock and CEO Alex’s office."

DC Theater Arts- Recommended

"...In Data, Matthew Libby's cautionary tale of the comprehensive reach of big tech, it is Arena Stage's technical production that most persuasively tells the tale. The production's design team is on the same page with Arena Artistic Director Hana S. Sharif's program comment that theater requires the opposite of comfort. The set, sound, and lighting designs create a closed, harsh, inhuman world that overwhelms the lives and personal concerns of its inhabitants."

Talkin Broadway- Recommended

"...Director Margot Bordelon has set the play's four characters on a bland, nearly featureless enclosed-box set (designed by Marsha Ginsburg) that suggests a textured blank piece of folded paper. Amith Chandrashaker's lighting design plays up the high-tech setting of the space with humming fluorescent ceiling lights, which shift color to denote changes of location, and shifting ribbons and blobs of light moving around the sides of the box. A pulsating electronic score by composer Dan Kluger and sound designer Mikaal Sulaiman accompanies the visual flow."

Stage and Cinema- Recommended

"...Along with The Other Americans, Arena Stage is offering yet another world premiere. A highly relevant corporate thriller that makes the Enron financial scandal look tame, DATA plunges viewers into the ethically complex world of Silicon Valley at a time when our data- and AI-driven world is hurtling at us with a speed that would make Einstein dizzy. Highlighting the isolation common in our supposedly connected modern society, the 90-minute one act explores modern issues of data manipulation, corporate ambition, and personal responsibility with gripping intensity, making it a compelling production."

MD Theatre Guide- Highly Recommended

"...“Data” delivers strong performances and manages to balance complex tech jargon with accessible, thought-provoking dialogue, making its themes engaging for audiences beyond the tech sphere. The play invites everyone in IT and business to reflect on the ethical boundaries we should individually uphold and sparks crucial discussions about the future of AI."