“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” That’s how Eileen, one of three main characters in “STUY OR DIE,” repeatedly chastises herself while struggling with math questions throughout the show.
“STUY OR DIE” follows three students preparing for the Specialized High School Admissions Test over the course of a little over two years with one goal in mind: scoring well enough to have a shot at getting into Stuyvesant High School.
With a simple set of desks, a clear whiteboard, a bean bag and shelves full of props, the show zeroes in on the stress and tunnel vision so many New York City students go through when it comes to preparing for a high-stakes test, despite its design to “keep as many people out as possible.”
Brian, Alex and Eileen spend two years congregating in a church basement-turned SHSAT test prep center with their instructor Jeanie, a Stuyvestant alumna herself. She challenges the idea that an elite high school like Stuyvestant is the only path to success, hoping to get each student and their parents to see the forest for the trees. While she does her job of helping each student improve their SHSAT score throughout the 80-minute show, she also encourages them to figure out their own dreams and motivations for why they want to score well in the first place — beyond wanting to earn love and approval from their parents.
It’s a lesson that resonated with Jason Wang, the playwright behind “STUY OR DIE” whose own experiences made up a core part of the show and presented themselves in the character Brian. As a 2018 Stuyvestant graduate, Wang spent 10 years preparing for the SHSAT himself and wanted to create this play to represent all the other New York City students who have similarly spent hundreds-to thousands of hours studying for it too. The show is the product of Wang’s own experience and those of many other SHSAT alumni interviewed, including cast members Matthew De Lorme and Ruponti Wazid, who play Alex and Eileen, respectively.
The show was full of funny, bright moments. Alex, the creative, thoughtful yet rebellious student who rapped his way through difficult practice questions, lightened the mood with improv and jokes throughout the show. And Eileen, who’s probably the most Stuyvestant-obsessed of the bunch, humored the audience with a dig at Forest Hills High School and brought them back to the early 2010s with plenty of references to Justin Bieber hits like “Baby.” Even Brian, the quietest of the bunch, sprinkles in some dry humor and sarcasm that lands when least expected.
Among the humor that shapes each character, the show kept it real when it came to the expectations placed on many students preparing for the SHSAT, especially those in the Asian American community. Case in point: Eileen says she has to get into Harvard to “crush” her older cousin’s spirit, just like her mom told her to. Alex wrestles with his own inclination to pursue the arts while struggling to meet his mother’s expectation of him getting into Stuyvesant, and Brian struggles to get his parents to acknowledge his achievements and personal milestones at all.
“STUY OR DIE” has already toured two of the boroughs, with a stop at the Brooklyn Public Library’s main branch in late May and the Bronx Music Hall on June 29. The show’s set to make its last two stops this month, first at Speyer Hall in Manhattan on Saturday, July 12 at 2 p.m. and finally at Flushing Town Hall Theatre in Queens on Saturday, July 26 at 7 p.m. These last two stops are currently sold out, but you’re welcome to try and snag a free ticket by joining the waitlist.
