Stage Review - You Will Get Sick (Sound Theatre)
Stage Review - You Will Get Sick
Presented By: Sound Theatre Company - Seattle, WA
Show Run: April 23 - May 16, 2026
Date Reviewed: Saturday, April 25, 2026 (opening night)
Run Time: 100 minutes (no intermission)
Reviewed by: Greg Heilman
Sound Theatre’s production of You Will Get Sick by Noah Diaz, directed by Teresa Thuman, now on stage at Center Theatre in the Seattle Center Armory through May 16, is a piece that resists easy categorization. First produced in New York by Roundabout Theatre Company in 2022, Diaz’s play blends dark humor, surrealism, and emotional introspection into a story that begins with a simple premise: a man, facing a mysterious illness, hires a stranger to help him make phone calls on his behalf. What unfolds is far less straightforward. The play spirals into a meditation on identity, mortality, and the fragile, often transactional ways we connect with one another, all filtered through a structure that feels intentionally disjointed, even elusive.
That sense of fragmentation is mirrored immediately in the visual world of this production. Scenic coordination by Robin Wheeler, supported by Sergio Vivas’s technical direction, introduces a series of panels that serve as both structure and canvas. Projections designed by Nick O’Leary transform these surfaces into shifting cityscapes—silhouettes of buildings that evoke an urban landscape while maintaining a slightly industrial, almost metallic edge. The aesthetic lands somewhere between graphic novel and gritty realism, a combination that proves effective as the play moves between locations and states of mind. These projections evolve throughout the performance, creating classrooms, interior spaces, and more abstract environments, requiring a level of precision from the stage crew that is consistently met.
One element that is apparent from the outset is how the production approaches accessibility. These same panels are also used to provide closed captioning, supplemented by a screen above the stage that displays narration—an integral part of the storytelling that gives the audience insight into the inner thoughts of #1, the central figure. By incorporating captioning directly into the design, Sound Theatre removes the need for designated accessible performances, allowing every audience member the same experience regardless of hearing ability. It’s a thoughtful and commendable choice. That said, the placement of captions on panels at the far sides of the stage can at times prove distracting. As dialogue shifts between actors positioned stage left and stage right, so too does the audience’s gaze, creating a visual rhythm that can feel less like natural focus and more like tracking a tennis match. Even for those who don’t rely on the captions, the movement draws the eye in ways that occasionally compete with the action.
Jacob Viramontes’ lighting design works hand-in-hand with these projections, carving out spaces within spaces and helping guide the audience through the play’s nonlinear progression. Mya Woods’ sound design and composition add another layer, with a balance that supports both the quieter, intimate exchanges and the more heightened moments. The overall technical package is cohesive, even when the play itself leans into ambiguity.
The structure of You Will Get Sick is one of its defining features, and also one of its challenges. Dialogue often overlaps with narration, and there is something distinctly literary in how Diaz constructs the piece. It’s an imaginative approach, one that leaves the audience questioning whether what unfolds on stage is happening in reality, within the mind of #1, or somewhere in between. This ambiguity becomes a vehicle for exploring the fear of illness and mortality, allowing the story to operate as both narrative and metaphor. The construction may not resonate with everyone, but much like abstract art, it benefits from a willingness to let the experience unfold without forcing immediate clarity. For those who might not typically gravitate toward more avant-garde work, simply allowing the piece to wash over them may reveal something unexpected by the final moments.
The cast—Ronnie Hill, Susan Finque, Tatyana Emery, David Tierney, and Ejay Amor—navigate this terrain with commitment, each taking on roles that shift in tone and function as the story unfolds. Ronnie, as #1, anchors the piece, capturing the uncertainty and fear of a man facing something he cannot fully understand or control. He handles the quieter, more vulnerable moments with care, giving the audience a clear emotional entry point into the story. The standout performance, however, comes from Susan as #2, the woman who answers the call and becomes a central presence in #1’s journey. Susan brings a no-nonsense, often terse energy to the role, as well as a counter to some of the more abstract elements of the play with a sense of directness and clarity. As with the rest of the cast, Susan takes on multiple roles throughout the evening, but it’s this primary relationship that resonates most strongly. She also delivers much of the play’s humor, providing a necessary counterbalance to its heavier themes and ensuring that the piece never loses its sense of humanity.
As director of the show, Teresa approaches the work with a clear embrace of its theatricality. The staging allows scenes to flow with minimal interruption, leaning into the dreamlike quality of the script. At its best, this creates a sense of continuity that supports the play’s themes, though there are moments where the layering of elements—moving panels, projections, narration, and dialogue—begins to compete for attention, though those moments are few and far between and more than made up for in the moments when the collection of creative elements comes together in the best sense. Regardless, the overall vision remains cohesive, and the company’s commitment to the material is evident throughout.
What Sound Theatre has created here is a production that accepts and leans into the complexity of its source material rather than trying to simplify it. The design elements are largely effective, the performances are committed, and the direction embraces the play’s unconventional structure. At the same time, the script’s abstract nature and the layering of theatrical devices may leave some audience members searching for a clearer investigation of its premise. Still, there is something compelling in that search.
You Will Get Sick doesn’t offer easy answers, but it does invite reflection—on illness, on connection, and on the ways we construct meaning in uncertain circumstances. In a theatrical landscape that often favors clarity, this production stands out for its willingness to sit in ambiguity, asking its audience not just to watch, but to engage, interpret, and question what they’re seeing.
The Sound Theatre Company production of You Will Get Sick runs on stage at the Center Theatre at the Seattle Armory through May 16. For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://soundtheatrecompany.org/.
Photo credit: Nikeesha Gooding
