About the Show

Talene Monahon’s sharp new play blends history and satire, tracing Armenian identity across two centuries.

Meet the Cartozians weaves together two timelines to explore identity, legacy, and assimilation through the lens of Armenian American experience. In the 1920s, an Armenian man fights for legal recognition in a United States that questions his right to citizenship. A century later, his descendant navigates a different kind of struggle—pursuing social media fame while negotiating her cultural heritage and public image.

Written by Talene Monahon, the play blends historical drama with biting satire, juxtaposing courtroom battles with influencer culture. Drawing from both real events and the constructed reality of social media, the story examines how visibility, belonging, and representation shift across generations.

With its dual narrative structure, Meet the Cartozians interrogates the tension between public perception and private identity, and the evolving costs of cultural acceptance in America.

Critic Reviews (10)

"Meet the Cartozians should not leave anyone feeling this misplaced sense of gratification."
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"This time she has written an epic drama with an intimate feel: a deeply personal play with wide-ranging appeal."
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"Using an actual historical incident as her starting point, Monahon spins a century-spanning tale that poses complex questions about identity and the meaning of citizenship. It couldn't be more of this fraught American moment."
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"A smart, rueful comedy of genuine substance, Meet the Cartozians...shapes up as a significant contender for a Pulitzer Prize as well as other awards come spring."
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"Your comedy is always in superb hands when Andrea Martin is around, and director David Cromer has lost none of his knack for bringing out the unexpected ebb and flow of emotion and behavior in everyday life."
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"This riveting two-part play set in two time frames 100 years apart asks the question what does it mean to be an American"
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What elevates the show further is the final scene, where a Kim Kardashian-like star (Tamara Sevunts) makes an unexpected appearance and kicks the entire show into a direction that is surprising, touching, and almost wistful
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"Talene Monahon makes a giant leap forward with this exquisitely rendered new play, a timely and sensitive tale of immigration, assimilation, racial profiling, and culture."
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