{"id":4768,"date":"2026-07-17T22:36:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T22:36:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4768"},"modified":"2026-07-17T22:36:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T22:36:34","slug":"review-workplace-isms-clash-in-employee-dharma-playbook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4768","title":{"rendered":"Review: Workplace ‘isms’ clash in ‘Employee Dharma Playbook’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

If one person rises to the top, another must reside firmly at the bottom.<\/p>\n

This is where Leela finds herself at the aerospace company that employs her. She is highly qualified to lead the highest teams the company offers, but either societal modernity or ancient custom is keeping her from certain pinnacles; it\u2019s not fully clear which of those issues is taking the lead.<\/p>\n

Read more Gov. Newsom curbs fund paying workers up to $1,700 a week for common ailments<\/a><\/p>\n

Geetha Reddy\u2019s world premiere play \u201cThe Employee Dharma Handbook\u201d is loaded with exquisite charm, fueled by a brilliant script equal parts hilarious and piercing. The words move through space fluidly, offering insights that show how out of depth many human resource offices are in the ways of cultural competence.<\/p>\n

Leela (Megan Suri) is a brilliant, young propulsion systems manager, born in the United States of Indian descent. The fact that she was passed over for a promotion by the genial yet unimpressive Baasu (Kunal Dudheker) is not revelatory \u2014 women often face these kinds of rejections where qualifications are no substitute for hierarchical comfort. But there is something more here, namely where Leela\u2019s family sits on the societal structure in the land of her roots.<\/p>\n

Human resources employee Val (Kathryn Smith-McGlynn) sees sexism, which as a Black woman, is a daily detail in her world. Yet she is out of her depth due to an unexpected conversation of the Indian caste system. Leela is a Dalit, the lowest rung of Indian society, yet the man who could have made things right and promoted Leela to her rightful place in the company is Krish (Kapil Talwalkar), who sits upon the highest caste as a Brahmin.<\/p>\n

Could a Dalit command orders to a Brahmin? Val is tough, having to determine as an outsider this possibility. She reaches out to longtime friend and chief technology officer C.K. (Ranjita Chakravarty) to help her understand what she doesn\u2019t know, which is basically everything. The determinations are critical, considering billions of dollars in the form of a rocket launch to Jupiter is now facing serious jeopardy.<\/p>\n

Reddy\u2019s dashing script, with a beautiful staging crafted by acclaimed director Snehal Desai, is loaded with magic that crafts a thoughtful and pensive tale where nothing is ever as it seems. Was it caste that informed Krish\u2019s ultimate decision to lean towards Baasu, or might it have been something less sinister and more pragmatic?<\/p>\n

These are the complications of Reddy\u2019s interrogation, where an ancient system that crosses borders deep into Silicon Valley plays out beneath Wilson Chin\u2019s remarkable set, which feels like an operating room, where society is the patient.<\/p>\n

Read more Antioch police failed to de-escalate situation before punching woman, expert says<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Yet not every element of the story works. In the denouement, we see Baasu out of his depth, confirming Leela was in fact the best choice. His last moments portray him too much as an oafish simpleton, which undercuts both Leela\u2019s brilliance and Krish\u2019s leadership instincts, and moves the the play towards devices that prioritize humor over organic truth. And the big rocket launch feels way too clumsy, the stakes feeling much lower than play builds towards.<\/p>\n

Suri is perfectly grounded as Leela, with gentle grit, thundering down on why she needs to be the mission\u2019s voice. Smith-McGlynn is wonderful as an audience interlocutor, who\u2019s on on a quest for justice yet fascinated with this new world of oppression she is now navigating. Her foil is C.K., Chakravarty dropping dimes of hilarity from every corner of the stage. Notice her wide eyes as she pours a little extra alcohol in her mug, and her sage advice to Val about trying to onboard herself too much in matters she is incapable of grasping.<\/p>\n

While Dudheker excels in the physical humor of Baasu, finding comfort in his big, bouncy red ball chair, Talwalkar handles his many tactical shifts with the instincts of a seasoned veteran. The moments where he rages along with Dudheker and Chakravarty in their character\u2019s native Telugu, smartly presented without translation, is scintillating.<\/p>\n

The play\u2019s more mundane moments support other times that are more compelling. Lessons on human resources being more company-oriented than human is another pearl of wisdom from Reddy, who clearly has a knack for corporate culture.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The play\u2019s issues are greatly outweighed by the many hilarious lines that crackle all over the stage, so many of them perfectly timed and out of left field, causing surprising morsels of legit laughter. After all, when even offering a donut is filled with not just cream, but compelling complications, the play is definitely doing something right.<\/p>\n

David John Ch\u00e1vez is a former chair of the American Theatre Critics\/Journalists Association, a 2020 O\u2019Neill National Critics Institute fellow, and a two-time juror for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (2022-\u201923). @davidjchavez.bsky.social.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Bay Area and California both lost jobs in June, new report shows<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018THE EMPLOYEE DHARMA HANDBOOK\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Geetha Reddy, presented by TheatreWorks Silicon Valley<\/p>\n

Through:<\/strong> Aug. 2<\/p>\n

Where:<\/strong> Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto<\/p>\n

Running time:<\/strong> 100 minutes, no intermission<\/p>\n

Tickets:<\/strong> $34-$115; theatreworks.org<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Geetha Reddy’s clever and provocative new play gets stellar production at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4767,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-things-to-do"],"yoast_head":"\nReview: Workplace ‘isms’ clash in ‘Employee Dharma Playbook’ - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4768\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Review: Workplace ‘isms’ clash in ‘Employee Dharma Playbook’ - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Geetha Reddy's clever and provocative new play gets stellar production at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4768\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-17T22:36:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4768#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4768\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Review: Workplace ‘isms’ clash in ‘Employee Dharma Playbook’\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-17T22:36:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4768\"},\"wordCount\":874,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4768#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/6358ee56df7b4b3830b5ff89a83aba50.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Things To Do\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4768#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4768\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4768\",\"name\":\"Review: Workplace ‘isms’ clash in ‘Employee Dharma Playbook’ - Next City Digest\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4768#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4768#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/6358ee56df7b4b3830b5ff89a83aba50.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-17T22:36:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4768#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4768\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4768#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/6358ee56df7b4b3830b5ff89a83aba50.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/6358ee56df7b4b3830b5ff89a83aba50.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":681},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=4768#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Review: Workplace ‘isms’ clash in ‘Employee Dharma Playbook’\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Next City Digest\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Review: Workplace ‘isms’ clash in ‘Employee Dharma Playbook’ - Next City Digest","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4768","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Review: Workplace ‘isms’ clash in ‘Employee Dharma Playbook’ - Next City Digest","og_description":"Geetha Reddy's clever and provocative new play gets stellar production at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley","og_url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4768","og_site_name":"Next City Digest","article_published_time":"2026-07-17T22:36:34+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4768#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4768"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"headline":"Review: Workplace ‘isms’ clash in ‘Employee Dharma Playbook’","datePublished":"2026-07-17T22:36:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4768"},"wordCount":874,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4768#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6358ee56df7b4b3830b5ff89a83aba50.webp","articleSection":["Things To Do"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4768#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4768","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4768","name":"Review: Workplace ‘isms’ clash in ‘Employee Dharma Playbook’ - Next City Digest","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4768#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4768#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6358ee56df7b4b3830b5ff89a83aba50.webp","datePublished":"2026-07-17T22:36:34+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4768#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4768"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4768#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6358ee56df7b4b3830b5ff89a83aba50.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6358ee56df7b4b3830b5ff89a83aba50.webp","width":1024,"height":681},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=4768#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Review: Workplace ‘isms’ clash in ‘Employee Dharma Playbook’"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/","name":"Next City Digest","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/nextcitydigest.com"],"url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4768\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}