The Exceptionals

Where do you draw the line between eugenics and the desire of every parent to give his or her child the best possible start? If the answer seems pretty simple, just ask Gwen, Allie and Tom, three parents whose children were conceived at a prestigious donor insemination program, specializing in donors with IQ's over 180. It is now five years later, and the parents of these exceptional children are discovering that the answer is anything but simple. "Playwright Bob Clyman doesn't waste time. Within the first five minutes of THE EXCEPTIONALS, he digs in to moral and ethical questions framed in a remarkably straightforward context. What makes this play 'exceptional' is Clyman's ability to create a fairly humorous setup, and then ratchet up the tension to transform a simple story into a high-stakes drama. THE EXCEPTIONALS takes place in the office of a sperm bank specializing in matching women with chart-topping IQs with 'uber sperm' to create exceptional children ... How far would parents go to help their child get ahead? How do they know they're making the right choices? Clyman's THE EXCEPTIONALS creates excitement and suspense around the most basic parenting questions." -Terry Byrne, The Boston Globe "Clyman's brilliance is that he doesn't use a soapbox to pound his point home. He puts great trust in his script's subtlety, and he banks on the audience's intelligence to get the message ... Clyman employs much humor and creates a handful of very human characters ... a highly successful, intelligent and chilling play." -The Nashua Telegraph