American millionaires in the 21st century have changed.

No longer are they a monolithic group of white Anglo-Saxon Protestants who disproportionately control social and financial power and trace their ancestry back to the Revolution.

They are post Woodstock grand-babies of baby boomers who got a good education (or dropped out to create a start-up) and found success in jobs such as finance, the media, entertainment, and more recently the tech industry, and represent diverse ethnicities.

But they feel a bit guilty about it. They reject being a conspicuous consumer. That, they rationalize, is  for the one percenters.

Playwright Karen Rizzo explores what happens when a rich couple — they call it “being comfortable” — tries to close the economic inequality gap between themselves and another couple in the East Coast premiere of the 90-minute play “Mutual Philanthropy” directed by Evan Bergman at the New Jersey Repertory Theater in Long Branch. Continue reading ‘Mutual Philanthropy’ explores millionaires and struggling families →