🎠“Meet the Cartozians” A Play Bridging Two Generations Of Armenians
Source: 2nd Stage Theater
About The Play
“Meet the Cartozians,” a compelling two-act production by 2nd Stage Theater, is a thoughtful exploration of the Armenian-American journey, charting the arduous path of immigrant identity from the struggle for belonging to dazzling, mainstream success. The play successfully uses a stark contrast between its acts to illuminate the profound transformation that occurs across generations.
The power of "Meet the Cartozians" lies in its expertly balanced emotional landscape, seamlessly weaving together moments of profound drama with unexpected bursts of humor.
The play tackles heavy subjects like immigration, assimilation, and historical suffering, the overall experience is richly layered, offering moments of genuine laughter, deep sadness, and ultimately, a feeling of hopeful catharsis and pride.
Act I: The Fight for "Whiteness" and Belonging
The first act transports the audience to the foundational challenge of the Armenian immigrant experience in America, centered around the “Cartozians,” a first generation family of Armenians gaining citizenship. This act masterfully captures the high-stakes pressure faced by first-generation immigrants.
Set around Christmas, the act revolves around the family patriarch being coached by his lawyer on how to prove the Armenian community's "whiteness" to assimilate into American culture. The tension is heightened by the presence of an Irish attorney, who practices with the father on what to say in court when defending his citizenship. He reminds the audience that the Irish themselves were once outsiders, underscoring the arbitrary and evolving nature of racial categorization in America.
The script shines when depicting the raw, intergenerational pain of displacement. A pivotal, resonant moment occurs when discussion around protecting Armenian culture escalates into a fight, prompting the mother, who isn’t seen on stage until this moment, to emerge, screaming, her reaction triggered by the palpable trauma of the Armenian Genocide. This scene grounds the play in the tragic historical context that compelled the family's migration, making the PTSD a significant and powerful thread.
A beautiful cultural gesture is the family's gift of a lovely red oriental rug to their lawyer. The description of them unfurling it with force for the audience is a striking, deeply Armenian and relatable moment of goodwill that offers a visual metaphor for the rich cultural heritage the family carries.
Act II: Success, Assimilation, and the Kardashian Show
The play dramatically shifts gears in the second act, bringing the audience forward approximately 100 years to examine the fruits of that earlier struggle, symbolized by the overwhelming success of the Kardashian family—here, renamed "Cartozian" for narrative consistency.
This act takes the form of a panel discussion featuring contemporary Armenian-Americans, intended as a segment with the (fictionalized) Kim Cartozian about celebrating Armenian heritage during Christmas. The discussion explores the complex, modern-day duality of being Armenian-American: navigating the space where one can be perceived as “white” while simultaneously existing as a culturally distinct “other.” It’s an examination of how, after immense struggle, Armenians have become deeply ingrained in American culture.
Kim Cartozian doesn't appear until the segment's end, after most participants have left, leading to a touching, symbolic heart-to-heart with the actor who played the father in Act I. This encounter is the play's narrative and emotional climax, directly linking the struggling immigrant past to the successful, assimilated present.
Source: 2nd Stage Theater
Casting and Artistic Achievement
A major highlight of this production is the extreme range of the cast. The transformation between acts is not merely a costume change but a total character overhaul. The actors pivot dramatically, shedding the mannerisms and conservative attire of first-generation Armenians for the entirely different postures and casual confidence of straight-up Americans.
This shift in costumes, mannerisms, and everything is so profound that the actors are barely recognizable, brilliantly illustrating the generational chasm the play seeks to bridge. Everything from their clothes, the way they speak, the way the stand and interact is so drastically different from the first act, its indicative of the incredible talent of the show and the show’s actors.
“Meet the Cartozians” is a powerful, successful piece of theater that doesn't shy away from the hard questions of identity, trauma, and success in the American melting pot. It is a resonant piece about the difficult climb to immigration and the dramatic, rewarding growth that follows.
The production has been met with enthusiastic acclaim and it likely to win awards, evidenced by its widespread success at the box office with most showings selling out.
