Public Charge ★★★★

Public Charge arrives as an abrupt jolt of bureaucratic positivity, a play about what’s possible when public servants aim to build bridges rather than burn them. Written by former ambassador Julissa Reynoso and Michael J. Chepiga, this new docudrama recounts Reynoso’s tenure in the State Department, focusing largely on the country’s fraught relationship with Cuba as she works to secure the release of an imprisoned American.

It’s the kind of earnest, policy-minded drama that feels increasingly rare on New York stages, and The Public Theater is one of the few institutions that would take it on (alongside Lincoln Center Theater). That alone is admirable. The production even invites comparison to Stuff Happens, David Hare’s sweeping political drama staged here two decades ago — a high bar for any docudrama to meet.

Under the sturdy direction of Doug Hughes, the production is consistently lucid. Despite the script’s frequent jumps across time and geography, scenes are staged with clarity and precision, and the storytelling rarely confuses even as it sprawls.

The performances are strong across the board, particularly among the women. Zabryna Guevara brings focus and intelligence to Reynoso, while Marinda Anderson lends authority as Cheryl Mills, and Maggie Bofill makes vivid impressions in multiple roles, including Cuban diplomat Josefina Vidal.

Where Public Charge struggles is in its fidelity to real life. The play is beholden to a sequence of actual events, and those events don’t always shape themselves into compelling drama. Though the central thread follows delicate negotiations between American and Cuban officials, Reynoso’s broader portfolio — touching on Haiti, Uruguay, and beyond — pulls the narrative in multiple directions. The result is a work that is consistently informative but only intermittently gripping, its momentum too often diffused by the very breadth it seeks to capture.