Meet the Cartozians kicks off in 1924, when the title family in Portland, Oregon are trying to become American citizens. In the second act — set in Glendale, California in 2024 — a modern group of Armenian Americans are chasing a different kind of recognition: reality TV stardom.

"The first act is about assimilation, and the second act is about individuation," said actress Susan Parfour. Both sets of characters grapple with "identity as performance" for others, as Monahon described it.

"There are these thematic links, language that resurfaces, connecting points between the two acts that are subtle and really illuminating if you're paying attention," echoed Parfour's castmate Nael Nacer. "It's almost a play that you could swap the order of the acts, and you could still get something really meaningful out of it."

All six members of the Meet the Cartozians cast play a different role in Act 1 than in Act 2. Most play Cartozian family members (in Act 1) and fictional, famous Armenian Americans (in Act 2), but some are more mysterious. Tamara Sevunts's Act 2 character, for example, is known only as "The Celebrity," and she couldn't reveal any more!

In the case of Will Brill, his characters are Irish Americans. Despite also coming from immigrant origins, they're the outsiders among the Armenian Americans at the play's center.

"That affords [my characters] a lot of [...] problematic ignorance, to comic effect and to heartbreaking effect," Brill said.

Nael Nacer's Act 1 character, Tatos Cartozian, ends up at the center of a court case that makes him reflect on what "whiteness" is, both legally and socially, for Armenian Americans. His story is actually a dramatization of real events.

For centuries, only white people could become American citizens under the Naturalization Act of 1790. There was a real Tatos Cartozian who, after living in Oregon for over 20 years, was approved for citizenship — and then immediately challenged by the attorney general's office. The U.S. took him to court, claiming he wasn't white and therefore ineligible.

Though Cartozian ultimately won the United States v. Cartozian case, its mere existence is proof of just how complex identity is, which Monahon and director David Cromer explore in the play.

"The worst people in our society hold very hard to what they believe are these foundational truths: 'You are this. You are that. We are better. You are worse,'" Cromer said. "These definitions are so random sometimes. They're based on some ugly bit of litigation or some horrible moment of prejudice."

Pieces of Armenian and American culture collide on stage in Meet the Cartozians. For example: food. Andrea Martin's Act 1 character, matriarch Markrid Cartozian, sets out to make an American pineapple upside-down cake, while in Act 2, Parfour's character bakes Armenian staples like simit (a circular, seeded bread), kadayif (shredded filo strands, recently popularized as an ingredient in Dubai chocolate), börek (a flaky, filled pastry), and lavash (a thin flatbread).

The blend of cultures gets trickier when it comes to language. The Act 1 characters speak Armenian on stage, but they're trying to "break the habit," per Parfour, and speak more English.

"They want to be known as an American citizen. They don't want to be thought of as Armenian," Martin said. "The older generation, my generation, isn't comfortable doing that. She's suspicious: 'Why do I have to let go of who I am in order to fit in?'"

Additionally, one scene includes fortune-telling with coffee grounds, a centuries-old tradition, and the set (by Armenian scenic designer Tatiana Kahvegian) features an oriental rug made by an Armenian artisan in Buffalo, New York.

"Act 1 is concerned with, how do we curate a narrative and an identity for a court case? Act 2 is concerned with, how do we curate a story and an identity for a reality television show?" said Monahon. Act 2 takes place in Leslie Malconian's (Parfour) living room, which has become the set of a series about a famous Armenian American family.

One can't help but imagine the Kardashians, who are partly of Armenian descent, even though the play's family is fictional. There are some details faithful to actual reality shows, though, courtesy of prop designer Anya Kutner.

"Everyone is drinking out of these opaque golden goblets. [It's] a trademark of [reality] shows for continuity's sake; it doesn't show how much you've been drinking," Monahon said. "I feel like it instantly takes away a person's dignity to be holding them, and they've been really making me happy."

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