Review: The Ask Examines the Ideological Crack-Up on the Left

Has the ACLU lost its way? Your answer to that question may reveal as much about your age as your politics — or at least your position on the American Left.

In his drama The Ask, now making its world premiere with Theater Accident at the Wild Project, Matthew Freeman imagines a meeting between a young ACLU “Gift Planning Officer” and a wealthy widow who has been giving to the organization for decades, but suddenly stopped in 2021.

Tanner (Colleen Litchfield) has arrived at the Upper West Side home of Greta (Betsy Aidem) to find out why. They (Tanner is non-binary) are also hoping Greta will return to the fold with a major gift that will help stabilize an organization in financial trouble. Greta’s longtime contact, Carol, is no longer with the ACLU, and she suspects she may have been laid off (for legal reasons, Tanner won’t say).

That’s part of Greta’s estrangement, but the greater part has to do with the organization’s adoption of a laundry list of Progressive causes, like student debt forgiveness. Greta struggles to see how they are connected to the ACLU’s core mission. And on some issues, Greta sees the group taking positions that are actively hostile to the First Amendment.

A master of electrified small talk, Freeman teases one of the biggest points of contention throughout this 80-minute, one-scene drama. Greta is particularly interested in reproductive rights, so Tanner deploys the term “pregnant people” thrice (as opposed to “women”) causing Greta to raise an eyebrow. “I won’t even ask what you think about JK Rowling,” she quips, prompting much seat-shifting onstage and in the house.

Those looking for scorched-earth debate between a liberal and a progressive (the likes of which once launched a billion Tweets) will be disappointed by this simmering two-hander, which is restrained by the power imbalance between the two characters. Tanner has come hat-in-hand to Greta’s door, so they’re not going to call Greta a “TERF” and call it a day. And that’s a good thing, because it allows a New York theater audience to really hear a well-articulated version of a perspective that doesn’t often get aired on our stages.

Aidem is the ideal actor to play Greta, mining Freeman’s script for every nugget of wry humor and humanity. She’s impossible to hate. Her Greta is not just some out-of-touch old rich lady, but someone who follows the news, carefully reads every e-mail the ACLU sends her, and worries about the rising generation on her own side and how it seems to be abandoning basic liberal principles.

“If you think that generation is going to be as generous as the people who have historically supported you, you’re out of your mind,” she warns Tanner, sounding somewhat like a jilted wife (although the shepherds of America’s tottering institutional theaters know she has a point). The catch in her voice lets us know that this divergence with an organization she cares for deeply is painful. As a monthly contributor to the ACLU who has regularly considered redistributing those funds, I was delighted to have a champion onstage.

Litchfield matches her with a performance that is just as sympathetic. A humble foot soldier, Tanner has no say in the strategy but still must march into the line of fire every day. A brief moment when Greta leaves the stage and Tanner melts into silent tears will certainly feel familiar to anyone who has worked a crappy public-facing job — or has felt restrained from speaking their mind. Greta may dread the illiberalism of a rising generation, but she’s still holding the checkbook. Even so, Tanner offers a spirited defense with one hand tied behind their back.

Director Jessi D. Hill has finely calibrated the tone and pace of The Ask so that we can always hear the two characters’ most persuasive points, but also always feel the underlying tension that makes this supremely talky play a surprise nail-biter.

The excellent performances are supported by cozy scenic design (by Craig Napoliello), warm lighting (by Daisy Long), realistic costumes (by Nicole Wee), and minimally distracting sound (Cody Hom only intrudes with the ring of Greta’s smartphone, which adds to the realism). Nothing distracts from the words in Freeman’s script, which are given the very best hearing in this production.

And hearing seems to be the point. As we’ve all become social media broadcasters, we’ve become less skilled at listening. The Ask is an invitation to really hear someone, even if you still walk away disagreeing.