Director Bryan Rasmussen, writer Darryl Vinyard, and a remarkable cast learn that trauma takes precedence over politics when it comes to debates within families.
By John Lavitt
Sherman Oaks, CA (The Hollywood Times) 09-09-2025
In the world of theatre reviews, there’s often a tendency to finish reviews within a day or two after seeing a performance. After all, you want to outpace the crowd of eager critics trying to earn recognition as the most enthusiastic supporters or the cleverest detractors. However, sometimes such a goal is deconstructed by a more profound need to process the meaning of a play and fully understand the significance and value of what happened on stage.
Such a moment occurred this weekend as I grappled with the societal and cultural implications of the first review performance of “Right,” Darryl Vinyard’s new play that explores the ongoing national vaccine debate.
Precisely directed by Bryan Rasmussen, the Producing Artistic Director of the Whitefire Theatre, this thought-provoking production runs from September 5 to October 18, 2025, and it should not be missed. Still, in the stillness of a challenging night at the theatre, if you are going to attend, be prepared to ask questions and experience emotions that are as remarkably difficult to digest in a theatrical context as they are in real life. Unfortunately, when it comes to vaccines and family dynamics, there are no easy answers.
Despite the lack of easy answers, many people, both in the theater and beyond, wave flags, wag fingers, and strut around like cowboys with opinions. However, what writer Darryl Vinyard has achieved in this taut one-act is not about politics or viewpoints or reaching a resolution. Instead, the core of the play is about the trauma that division and disagreement cause within the family structure. From the beginning of the play, there is a sense that mines are laid everywhere within what should be a loving landscape, and it is only a matter of time.
At the start of the play, in fall 2024 in Northern California, we see what looks like the messy aftermath of a successful children’s party, with torn wrapping paper, scattered toys, and plenty of junk food. The scene design by Jeff G. Rack is well-executed, offering a sense of what came before the proverbial curtain rises. From the beginning, we know exactly what we are witnessing.
However, in reality, the child’s party has been anything but a success. Instead of focusing on the still-topical COVID-19 vaccination questions or even the standard flu vaccine, the story revolves around the measles vaccination. Out of fifteen children invited to the five-year-old’s birthday party, only the other unvaccinated kid showed up. The backstory reveals serious recent consequences for a baby in the community caused by the unvaccinated children. Although the measles vaccination is the focus, it is a representative of vaccinations across the board.
As a salt-of-the-earth blue-collar worker, Jake (Mitch Rosander) cleans up with his brother Carter (Eric Keitel), a public-school teacher, tensions start to rise. The simple truth is that Carter’s wife Jenna (Gloria Ines) is pregnant, and the couple refuses to let the baby be around any unvaccinated people, including their own family. The excitement surrounding the pregnancy news quickly gives way to tension when Jake’s wife, Aubrey (Sara Maraffino), learns what is coming down the line. Sides are drawn, and the battle begins.
The specifics of the battle do not matter because everyone knows the score. The arguments from both pro- and anti-vaccers are familiar to anyone who has paid even limited attention to the news over the past few years, and there are no new revelations on either side. More critical to the play’s story is the trauma within the family and how it unfolds in such a brutal and relentless manner. Like a toxin spreading among the characters, the purity of their love is tainted by the stain of their defensive positions.
Directed with quiet focus and intensity, the cast of actors deserves praise for the play’s success, as none of the four tries to steal the spotlight. Instead of waving flags, they embody their characters and explore their realities as caring human beings experiencing genuine conflict. Together, they give the audience powerful insight into the emotional turmoil at the heart of the trauma within this family and many more like it across our divided nation.
If you want to delve into the deep pain behind today’s headlines, a trauma often hidden by talking heads on TV, then don’t miss this powerful drama at the Whitefire Theatre. Although you won’t feel right immediately after seeing “Right,” you will experience a level of emotional resonance that most theatrical productions today can only dream of achieving.
Photos by Bryan Rasmusen, Courtesy of the Whitefire Theatre
