Jeanie (Crystal Finn) fields rambling questions on TikTok: “Why is Fauci still free, when will Hillary Clinton face judgment, where are the arrests, are there medbeds, and the Storm, the Storm, when is the Storm already?”
There are no real answers for this suburban Texas mom—a QAnon conspiracist trying desperately to become a social media star in “Biden’s America.” Neither is there a clear answer about who the target audience is for Anne Washburn’s meandering play ANON.
Unfortunately, Jeanie’s new neighbors, a gay couple, Adam (Jeff Biehl) and Will (Jeremy Shamos), have stoked her ire by prominently hanging a Pride flag outside their house. Naturally, she takes to social media to rant: “I lived in Commiefornia a long time, and I had gay friends; they can be good people, folks, they can, but this is a family-oriented neighborhood in Texas; this is not the place for this level of indoctrination.”
It wants better content.
Commiefornia comes to Texas
The political and cultural divide remains a hot topic on stages this fall, with Slam Frank (a Latin hip-hop retelling of Anne Frank) and Degenerates (a disturbing examination of incel culture) sparking conversations. But in ANON, Washburn preaches to the choir without singing a new song. Themes of a fractured America and its fringes (QAnon itself grew out of 2016’s Pizzagate conspiracy) have been dramatized so often that they now feel hackneyed.
The production’s website description asks, “How well do you know the people you live among?” The bigger question might be, how much of an investment is worth pouring into people whose ideologies are so absurd and hateful that reason eludes them? It’s an inquiry many of us still struggle with.
ANON offers a few thoughtful views, especially on our relationship with social media and the credibility of news sources. The performances are also strong, particularly Finn, who brings a skillful mix of kookiness and warmth to the role. As irrational as her views are, it’s hard not to empathize with her mental unraveling. Shamos charts Will’s slide from wry skeptic to something closer to Jeanie than he’d care to admit, while Biehl’s Adam keeps a steadying hand on them both.
But while actual QAnon believers wait for the storm, theatergoers get only a rumble of thunder.
Is ‘ANON’ worth seeing?
Anne Washburn’s ANON gets more interesting as its liberal heroes drift closer to the woman they despise—a provocative idea buried under a familiar premise.
- MCC Theater, 511 W 52nd Street, New York City
- Notable performers: Jeff Biehl, Crystal Finn, Jeremy Shamos
- Running time: 2 hours and 5 minutes, including intermission
- Performances through November 1, 2026
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