As the Beaver

AS THE BEAVER takes as its premise that Ward and June Cleaver’s youngest son, The Beaver, is gay. Joel Drake Johnson then spins this seemingly slight premise into a smart and funny and ultimately enriching exploration of American society and family. Tell people the initial concept of Chicagoan Joel Johnson’s new play AS THE BEAVER - Ward and June Cleaver discover that their younger son is gay - and they’ll probably roll their eyes and ask, ‘What’s next?’ But tell people that Johnson doesn’t settle for a late-night skit, that he develops a fully realized play that is at once hilarious, challenging and moving, and you’ll be doing them a favor. For AS THE BEAVER … is one of the funniest and cleverest shows to be seen in a long while … -Andrew Patner, Chicago Sun-Times .. . Happily, Johnson quickly transcends the easy laughs, using his premise to accomplish something considerably more ambitious: he ruthlessly deconstructs the mindless, superficial worldview of 50s and early-60s sitcoms … The play is often hilarious, thanks in part to the playwright’s great ear for formulaic sitcom dialogue … Just when it looks as if Johnson has exhausted his premise he leaps ahead two decades, from the mid-60s to the mid-80s, to show how Beaver and company are faring in post-Stonewall, Reagan-era America -Jack Helbig, Chicago Reader