‘Smart’ Review: A.I. in the Living Room

Artificial intelligence has lately proven that it can write Hollywood screenplays, ace the bar exam and maybe even develop a twisted crush. Jenny, the Alexa-like device in “Smart,” which opened on Thursday at Ensemble Studio Theater, asks philosophical questions about A.I. that by now feel consolingly benign, like whether it can replace the care we owe one another or fulfill our need for love.

The short and perhaps obvious answer is no. Jenny, as conceived by the playwright Mary Elizabeth Hamilton, functions as a home health aide that Elaine (Kea Trevett) sets up for her mother, Ruth (Christine Farrell), a widow who has suffered a stroke and increasingly stumbles over her words. Ruth’s skepticism thaws once she gets Jenny to play her favorite musician (the Brazilian artist Antônio Carlos Jobim) and order her favorite candy (Werther’s Originals). The insomniac Elaine also warms up: As she adds groceries to Instacart and composes texts to her ex in the middle of the night, Elaine talks to Jenny (voiced by Sherz Aletaha) like a much-needed companion.

Ruth’s home is crowded with relics of the past, including her late husband’s worn-out sofa, where she occasionally talks to him, and yesterday’s dishes and trash (the set design is by Yi-Hsuan (Ant) Ma). Jenny’s glowing orb is a lone marker of the present tense. The future is there with them, too: Gabby (Francesca Fernandez), a programmer working to improve Jenny’s language skills, is listening remotely, her desk nestled in among the clutter. The boundaries between them further collapse when Gabby turns up in person, drawn to what she’s heard and seeking mutual connection.

A.I. powers up the plot of “Smart,” which traces the fraught and imprecise networks of memory, obligation and necessity that bind parents and children (Gabby often talks to her own ailing father on the phone). Later, it pivots to capture the sparks that fly between new lovers. The production, co-presented by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, which supports the intersection of arts and science, is ably directed by Matt Dickson on the compact stage and well acted by members of the small cast, particularly Ferrell, as the fog surrounding Ruth thickens and engulfs her. But the play feels like a composite of disparate parts that’s missing an engine.

Beyond demonstrating that a smart speaker is no substitute for family, and an especially creepy way for a lonely software engineer to initiate an affair, “Smart” doesn’t mine fresh insight about what it means for relationships to be mediated by technology. Nor does the play resolve the conceit it takes two acts to set up, of a romance built on deception, despite promising its revelation as the primary source of narrative momentum. Even tech that seems mundane is worth deeper scrutiny, but here that examination detracts from the possibility of more cohesive and compelling human drama.

Smart
Through April 23 at Ensemble Studio Theater, Manhattan; ensemblestudiotheatre.org. Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes.