Michael Frederic and Ellen Adair. Premiere Stages’ 2026 production of Flawless by John J. Wooten. Photo by Mike Peters.
Premiere Stages' production of John J. Wooten's play Flawless is now running at Kean University's Bauer Boucher Theatre Center in Union, NJ. The play is about how Artificial Intelligence (AI) takes over two playwrights. In a word, it is scary! Not the type of scary we think of like we might see at Halloween. But it is scary because there are elements of what could happen as AI continues its descent on the world.
Joe Brancato does outstanding work directing this production. He brings together Mr. Wooten’s well written story and enhances it with powerful staging effects. There are three actors in the show who intersect both with the story and the visual effects.
Flawless had its world premiere at Penguin Rep. Now it is being produced in partnership with Penguin Rep and Shadowland Stages in Ellenville, NY. It will run at Shadowland Stages an additional three weeks in October with the same company.
A Futuristic Fictional Story - In his role as a playwright, Premiere Stages’ Producing Artistic Director John Wooten has identified a topic that is still fairly new to the live stage. If you are like I am, I always assumed that AI would not be able to worm its way into live theater. But Mr. Wooten identifies paths which would make this possible. Perhaps we won’t have actors being replaced by AI, but we can have stories created through AI platforms. And that is exactly what this story focuses on.
Tess (Ellen Adair) is a unique character in that she is an award winning playwright who also has developed an AI software platform called Percy. She uses the software to write by using effective prompts for playwriting. Flawless brings her together with her former teacher and sometime romantic partner, Frank (Michael Frederic). Frank is a seasoned writer but down on his luck with selling his ideas. He has had to resort to doing adjunct work teaching theater at a college to pay his bills.
Frank would like to collaborate with Tess on writing a new play. He has an idea but needs to work it out. When Tess tells Frank about the Percy platform, conflict occurs between the two former colleagues. But strangely, a figure appears on stage representing the AI platform that Tess developed. The figure is called Percy (Alexander Rios).
As the story continues Frank is faced with whether or not he should join Tess is using the new platform. Success is all but guaranteed. He decides to remain with what he has been saving over the years and tells Tess where he has stored his ideas on his own computer.Without giving away the ending, just note that this strategy backfires on him in an ending that is certain to give you a very strange and somewhat frightening feeling.
Powerful Staging - The Creative Team for this show does an outstanding job with inserting visuals, sounds, and background scenes that enhance the drama taking place.
Michael Frederic and Ellen Adair. Premiere Stages’ 2026 production of Flawless by John J. Wooten. Photo by Mike Peters.
Sounds of computer programs coming alive create foreboding sounds. Scenes like the one shown above indicate what is taking place on the laptop that Tess is using. Although it is only a platform, Percy has taken on a human persona. Tess has established him as an AI storyteller with human looks but not human feelings. However, one questions how legit Percy’s insights really are.
Background visuals allow the audience to feel like they are either inside of a computer or watching a very large screen. Unidentified code flashes through making the effects very realistic.
The Intersection of AI and Humans is Startling - As dynamic as the staging and special effects are, nothing prepares you for when the actor, Alexander Rios playing Percy appears. This is a very clever creative staging technique used to demonstrate how real an AI figure might appear to be. His presence is powerful.
Ellen Adair and Alexander Rios. Premiere Stages’ 2026 production of Flawless by John J. Wooten. Photo by Mike Peters.
And the power of that presence takes over the action as it unfolds to a very unexpected ending. Not only is Percy there, but the staging effects light up all the elements.
It would be fair to say that the ending of Flawless identifies mankind’s biggest concerns with AI. This concern is that AI will take us over and we won’t be able to control it. And if that doesn’t scare you, then nothing this Halloween will!
Go to See Flawless - I highly recommend going to see Flawless. As school begins, more news videos and articles are appearing about Artificial Intelligence making this a very timely topic and show to see.
Flawles runs September 3 – 20 in the Bauer Boucher Theatre Center on the Kean University main campus in Union, N.J. The performance schedule is Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays at 7:30pm, Saturdays at 3:00pm & 7:30pm and Sundays at 3:00pm. A 3:00pm matinee has been added on Friday, September 18. There is no performance the evening of Saturday, September 19.
To purchase tickets, call the box office at 908-737-7469 or visit Premiere Stages online at premierestagesatkean.com.
Learn More about AI and the Show Flawless - Premiere Stages provides several ways you can learn more about AI. While visiting the theater, go to the lobby and read the well developed information boards. Here are two examples of what you will see:
Photo – K. Nowosad
Photo – K. Nowosad
Additionally, the theater provides a Talkback series following select 3:00 pm performances. Guest speakers and dates are subject to change. Remaining events include:
Sunday, September 13 – Bethany Crystal, BuildFirst.AI
Saturday, September 19 – Grace Wang, Director, NJIT’s Center for AI Research
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