Checks & Balances - Oren Safdie

CHECKS ' BALANCES tells the story of a young music student who comes to New York to attend a prestigious music conservatory and gets a part-time bookkeeping job with the founder, a woman well into her 80s who appears to be losing her memory. Upon inspection of her finances, he uncovers numerous checks written to the maid, which lead him on a journey of unexpected twists and turns that in the end challenge his own values and ethics. The play explores issues regarding immigration (both legal and illegal), class, privilege, the definition of family, as well as how society chooses to deal with its aged.

   “Any great comedy should make you think. And make no mistake, Oren Safdie’s CHECKS AND BALANCES, is a great comedy. It’s the kind that makes you laugh honestly but guiltily at all the ways life is unfair; how the best intentions can end in ruin; and how sometimes the truth does anything but set you free.”
The Source, Northwest Arkansas

   “The story itself is thought provoking, with subtle undertones that challenge societal ideas of family, the elderly and entitlement. These undertones, in combination with Safdie’s sophisticated yet clever dialogue, make the show simply spectacular… The characters evolve beautifully on stage.”
 City Wire, NWA