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| Cherise Boothe photo by Jeff Lorch |
Darlene Donloe
Cherise Boothe is set to star in the Pasadena Playhouse production of "Eureka Day," a Tony Award-winning satire that tackles the complexities of vaccine policies in a private school. The show opens September 14.
The veteran actress and San Francisco native takes on the role of Carina, bringing her extensive experience in theater, film, and television to the stage.
With a career spanning over two decades, Boothe, a natural beauty with a sparkly personality, has proven her versatility as an actress.
Her notable credits include originating the role of Josephine in Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Ruined" and winning an Obie Award for her performance in "Milk Like Sugar" and "Angels in America".
She's also made appearances in TV shows like "Modern Family," "The Politician," and "Law and Order".
In "Eureka Day," Boothe's character, Carina, is part of a cast that explores the chaos that ensues when a mumps outbreak hits the fictional progressive private school in Berkeley, Eureka Day.
Carina is a new parent and the newest member of the school’s executive board, whose presence challenges the institution’s performative ideals of radical inclusivity. She is a Black, gay woman from the East Coast with a son who has special needs, and her perspective stands in sharp contrast to the established, privileged liberal parents who make up the rest of the board.
The play, directed by Teddy Bergman and written by Jonathan Spector, satirically examines the school's well-meaning but flawed attempts to create an inclusive vaccination policy.
The school's board of directors, comprising five parents and the school's head, must navigate the crisis while maintaining their inclusive vaccination policy.
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| Cherise Boothe |
I recently caught up with Boothe (CB) to talk about her career and ‘Eureka Day.’
DD: Why did you want to be an actress?
CB: I spent a lot of time alone growing up. My mother worked the graveyard shift. My parents separated when I was five years old. To make ends meet, she did a graveyard shift. Between the ages of 8 and 12, I spent a lot of time alone. I escaped through TV and videos of shows that I had on VHS tapes. There was a desire to escape into other worlds because my world was lonely and uneventful. I didn’t have time with other kids. When I got to high school, there was an acting class. I realized I could get better at it. It was something I could pursue and enjoy. Right then, I caught the bug.
DD: What did your Jamaican parents think?
CB: My parents tried to steer me away from coming to LA. They encouraged me to go to Berkeley so that I would find something else to focus on. It took me a while to find my footing and to gain the approval of my father and stepmother. My mom had art in her, but couldn’t let it out. With immigrant families, the thing is work. It's the way to achieve what you want in life. I am the beneficiary of what they needed to do to get where they are now.
DD: Tell me about EUREKA DAY in your own words.
CB: It’s a story about a progressive, private school. A diverse group of parents from various backgrounds comes together. They are hit with an outbreak of mumps. There is a board, a committee that steers the school and teaches its core values, and keeps them grounded.
DD: Tell me about your character?
CB: I play Carina, a mom who comes to the school. She is a new parent on the block. I am still trying to figure out how everything is done, and then the mumps breakout happens. We need to determine how to address this issue. Carina is interesting. I feel that the challenge she faces is being new and navigating a new space and environment that she is not accustomed to, all for the sake of her child’s well-being. It’s an interesting tightrope to walk. She presents a challenge to me. The things Carina doesn’t say are essential, as opposed to what she does say. When she enters the conversation, there are specific reasons for when she chooses to speak up. I found it interesting and challenging.
DD: Why did you want to be in this show?
CB: To be honest, I feel fortunate to be in a play. It’s my first love. I started my acting in plays. It’s where I feel comfortable. For this particular play, to be at the Pasadena Playhouse for the first time, I enjoy the things I’ve seen there.
DD: How do you think Carina’s character contributes to the overall themes and satire of the play?
CB: That’s interesting. As a Black woman within the context of this group’s dynamic and being a new group member, the negotiation of being new and wanting to make sure that she’s not stepping on toes, but making sure her voice is heard, and trying to figure out the best way to do that. She’s dealing with all of that. Everybody is trying to be their best selves.
DD: Your character is a Black lesbian in that community.
CB: Yes, a Black lesbian in that community. I don’t know – it’s just another layer that adds to the complication, but it doesn't feel like it is. It’s just a fact. I feel like her race has more of a presence than her sexuality. I’m not trying to dismiss her sexuality. Race has a greater presence.
DD: How do you prepare for a role, and what do you think are some of the most essential qualities for an actor to possess?
CB: There is an initial research component to understand where she is coming from, what her background is, and what type of school she’s going into. There is an understanding of what the most important things are for Carina. The well-being and support of what her son needs to thrive. Her wife likes being there. It feels complicated, negotiating the balance of being in a new space and having to consider the welfare of my son and the happiness of my wife – where are the disagreements, how can we come together, and what are the points of disagreement?
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| Cherise Boothe stars in 'Eureka Day' photo by Jeff Lorch |
DD: What qualities do you think actors need to possess?
CB: The thing I’m working on these days is my empathetic imagination. It can be easy to harden oneself. As an actor, how do you maintain a soft and malleable inner state that is easily accessible to serve whoever you are portraying? I find that to be the most essential—everything else you can mold and adjust, making a different choice. To access the softer parts of you – it's you at your most human.
DD: How do you approach playing a character who may hold different views or perspectives than your own, and what do you think audiences will take away from Carina's story?
CB: Honestly, it's just hard to find someone….. I may disagree with how they are doing something. Sometimes it’s hard. You double down on empathizing with their perspective and point of view. What shapes them? Put yourself in our shoes. You have to turn up the volume on your empathetic understanding of what it's like to be in that person’s shoes. Initially, it can be hard, but that’s when I take a pause and open up my empathetic heart to being this person.
DD: What do you hope the audience takes away?
CB: I don't necessarily have something specific for them to walk away. Hear Carina and understand where she is coming from. I hope audiences can receive the play and the people on stage within the context of the story – and I hope they can hear each character and engage in a conversation about it.
DD: What do you think EUREKA DAY says about the importance of vaccines, public health, and personal responsibility, and how do you think the play's themes resonate with contemporary audiences?
CB: It brings up a lot of what people disagree on. Various sides of that argument of whether vaccines are needed, if they work, the science behind them, the protection of people, and the population at large. I’m sure audiences, in one way or another, will have a personal perspective on the topic. They will either be open to discussing it or not. What the play does is continue that conversation. I’ll leave it to audiences to figure out what the play is saying. The play raises many aspects of the conversation.
DD: What personal connections do you have to the themes or issues explored in EUREKA DAY, and how do you think your own experiences inform your portrayal of Carina?
CB: I have personal experience. I was vaccinated. My relationship to vaccines was at a time when it was automatic. You just did it. I didn't have any complications. I don't have a complication as some have with the vaccination process. When COVID-19 emerged, I was surprised. I was like, ‘Wait a minute, should I not do this?’ I figured I would get it. It was very contentious. Everything has become incredibly divisive. I think it's a metaphor for what’s happening. Disagreements don't have to divide us. I wish more of us could find a way to disagree without division. It requires a great deal of understanding and empathetic generosity.
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The impressive cast of Pasadena Playhouse’s production of Eureka Day includes Boothe (Signature Theatre’s Fabulation, Geffen Playhouse’s Barbeque) as Carina, Mia Barron (Broadway’s Coast of Utopia, Lincoln Center’s The Coast Starlight - Lucille Lortel Award winner) as Suzanne, Camille Chen (Renfield, American Horror Story: Asylum) as Meiko, Nate Corddry (Sugar, Barry, Perry Mason) as Eli, and Rick Holmes (Broadway’s Peter and the Starcatcher, Broadway’s The Visit) as Don.
The creative team is equally talented, with scenic design by Wilson Chin, costumes by Denitsa Bliznakova, and lighting design by Elizabeth Harper.
"Eureka Day,” Pasadena Playhouse, 39 South El Molino Avenue, Pasadena, 8 p.m. Wednesday and Friday evenings, 7 p.m. Thursdays; Tuesday, Sept 30 at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 2 and 8 p.m.; Sundays at 2 p.m. and Sunday Oct. 5 at 7 p.m.; September 14 through October 5, 2025; tickets: pasadenaplayhouse.org, 626-356-7529, and at the box office at 39 South El Molino Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91101.
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