Logging in to tackle these queries is playwright Matthew Libby’s Data, which opened at the Lucille Lortel Theatre on Sunday. You are in the world of Silicon Valley developers navigating the intersection of algorithmic predetermination and public policy. With blank walls, fluorescent lighting, technobabble, and office intrigue, Data brings a sterile modernity to the stage in a thriller touching on surveillance, privacy, prediction, and free will.

Sophia Lillis, Brandon Flynn

Marsha Ginsberg inventive use of a spartan design is reminiscent of Severance, the Apple TV+ series in which Lumon Industries employees number-crunch in a workplace where on-the-clock memories can’t leave the building with their bodies, thanks to a surgery known as the Severance Procedure. For Data, sit-to-stand desks, fluid furniture, and a folding game-table partition shape the playing space, shifting as alliances and interests change — a visual echo of the constantly reconfiguring world these coders inhabit.

Karan Brar, Brandon Flynn

The workplace of this coding caper is Athena Technologies, a large firm in mid-2020s America where employees enjoy ping-pong, Taco Tuesdays, and wearing jeans to work. Chatting over a scoreless table-tennis match, we meet Maneesh (Karan Brar) and Jonah (Brandon Flynn). Maneesh is a fresh developer in his first week at Athena. Jonah, a fellow UX developer, is happy to bro out and keep things light — though it’s clear Maneesh has more on his mind than surviving new-hire orientation.

Karan Brar, Sophia Lillis

Luckily, Maneesh doesn’t need the Severance Procedure to get onboarded in UX (that’s User Experience for those who don’t code), but that doesn’t mean compromises aren’t in order. In fact, clinically separating work from personal life would probably solve many of the problems he encounters.

Karan Brar, Justin H. Min

Things get interesting when Riley (Sophia Lillis) enters the conversational badminton match with a cut hand in clear need of a bandage change (don’t worry — that’s as bloody as the play gets). Riley knows Maneesh from school and, more importantly, knows his qualifications for her Data Analytics department — qualifications he suspiciously didn’t list when applying at Athena. Riley carries not only an injury but a secret as well, one Maneesh may be uniquely positioned to help unburden.

Karan Brar

Apropos for a play so named, Libby has a lot to say. He balances jargon-heavy exchanges with emotional confrontations, creating rapid volleys of tech-speak and tension. Dialogue arrives in bursts, like the clack of a coder’s mechanical keyboard — swift disclosures followed by abrupt silence. He evokes the contemporary world without tethering the play to a specific year or generation, avoiding trendy slang or dated references.; no one is “adulting” or joking about “’67” here.

Director Tyne Rafaeli keeps the pacing brisk, painting with silence and soliloquy alike. Characters slip around one another, making discoveries and negotiations at speed. Scenes range from common-area hangouts to illicit data drops to corporate executive meet-and-greets.

Brandon Flynn

The young cast convincingly portrays a cutting-edge American workforce, creating a casual atmosphere while high stakes simmer just behind the screen. Brar’s Maneesh enters Athena reserved and guarded, burdened by a family history intertwined with the company. Flynn’s laid-back Jonah generates much of the humor while masking deeper motivations. Lillis drives the production’s moral question with intensity and pathos. All these techies labor under the watchful eye of Alex, brought to charismatic life by Justin H. Min, who maintains a steady veneer of civility — until he can’t… or won’t… or simply doesn’t have to anymore.

Sophia Lillis

Original music and sound design by Daniel Kluger, paired with frenetic lighting by Amith Chandrashaker, keep tension humming even during moments of emotional calm. Kluger conducts brainwaves and captures whispers, immersing the audience in a sonic environment that feels coded directly into the production’s circuitry.

Costumes by Enver Chakartash capture startup-friendly business casual, reflecting a millennial-dominated corporate landscape. Thanks to the ubiquitous “tech-bro” vest seen throughout Manhattan’s Flatiron, Chelsea, and Union Square, audiences will know which climber not to trust. (Honestly, you can’t trust any of them — everyone in this two-hour tech heist is hiding something, but one will stand out as especially sniveling.)

This dark foray into the clash of data code and honor code — where morality is malware and trust isn’t always two-step verified — proves entertaining for viewers already thinking about the information arms race among the world’s largest tech companies. Ticket buyers seeking lighter fare may find their search query yields limited returns. But for those already plugged in, Data is bug-free.

Justin H. Min

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photos by T. Charles Erickson

Data
Lucille Lortel Theatre, 121 Christopher Street
one hour and forty minutes, no intermission
ends on March 29, 2026
for tickets, visit Lortel or Data the Play or lortel.org

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