Be careful what you say around Ljuba (Christine Lahti). She’s the battle-axe, steely head boss of the St. Petersburg’s Internet Research Agency. Masha, a former journalist, (Renata Friedman) is her newest employee among colleagues that include Nikolai (Hadi Tabbal), an optimistic supervisor who develops a requited crush on Masha, Egor (Haskell King), a quiet brainiac whose primary goal is to win a microwave, and Steve (John Lavelle) a bombastic instigator who might be Russia’s answer to Jack Black.
Together, these five will help to bring down the 2016 US election in Sarah Gancher’s Off Broadway play Russian Troll Farm. Billed as a workplace comedy, it aims to shed light and truth on the ludicrous conspiracy theories which were actually concocted and executed by the Internet Research Agency, a real-life organization formed in 2013 and dissolved in July 2023. Known as "Glavset," it was created to spread misinformation and falsehoods on social media about American political candidates.
Although the agency and many of the tweets mentioned in the show are real, Gancher’s program notes inform us that the characters are a work of fiction. In many ways, she conveys the sense of unhappiness and oppression through all of her players. In that sense, we are able to empathize with the fact that their employment options and access to freedom are limited. Yet it’s hard not to feel as though this insidious activity and their behavior isn’t normalizing the destruction of our democracy.
Darko Tresnjak directs this thought-provoking piece with a steady hand, but too often the dark comedic moments fail to land. In fact, with important elections happening around the world and in our country this year. it’s tough to not feel unsettled and unmoored by foes who wish harm upon us—and upon each other. In dog-eat-dog fashion, no one is spared at the agency.
Satire can often reveal truth to our foibles and follies, but informed theatergoers should know all too well about cockamamie social media posts—and know enough to differentiate fact from fiction. Ultimately, one has to question the target audience for Vineyard Theater’s play. Something tells me that the MAGA crowd won’t be flooding the box office for tickets. For the rest of us, it’s not a must-see.
Russian Troll Farm is now playing at the Vineyard Theater (108 E. 15th Street between Irving Place and Park Avenue South) through March 3rd. For tickets and information, click here: vineyardtheatre.org, russian troll farm.
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