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In David J. Glass’s new play “Love + Science,” two gay medical students researching virology in 1980s Manhattan fall into bed with each other. They spend the next five years too afraid to kiss as reports of a deadly, new infection emerge, causing them to investigate and face HIV/AIDS, a disease both are vulnerable to. In Vitro Productions presents this medical mystery turned meet cute, with Glass urging the audience to examine the historical, societal, and therapeutic consequences of the disease.
Since the epidemic’s onset, various plays have attempted to humanize the devastation of AIDS. In “Love + Science,” Glass returns to the documentation tradition, drawing attention to the microscopic details and social impacts of HIV. As a senior lecturer in cell biology at Harvard University, he provides meticulous exposition that functions more as a historical chronicle than a character study.
Although Matt Walker and Jonathan Burke both deliver charming performances as the two leads, the dialogue’s information overload allows only surface-level interactions. Their love story, overly-informed by risk but lacking any chemistry, never quite sparks. In the five-member supporting cast, Imani Pearl Williams steals the show as a lab student and blind date, delivering truth bombs laced with humor. Adrian Greensmith and Ryan Knowles embody the terror and uncertainty faced by AIDS patients.
The lively production by director Allen MacLeod embraces the 1980s aesthetics, with electric colors from Samuel J. Biondolillo’s lighting and projection design and Camilla Dely’s costumes that cater to Zoomer culture. “Love + Science” provides opportunity for reflection on the outbreak depicted on stage, especially for those who didn’t experience it. If the production aims to address the timeliness of the coronavirus pandemic, it only briefly touches on it.
The final scene’s rushed and tenuous through line attempts to draw a connection between HIV and COVID-19, which may go unnoticed by the audience unprepared for the abrupt time jump. However, the play’s relationships don’t demand any substantial narrative resolution, and the future of scientific study remains uncertain and a topic for further exploration.
Love + Science
Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes.
Through July 6 at New York City Center Stage II, Manhattan; loveandscienceplay.com.
