It was touted as a sedative with no hangover. It was hailed as non-addictive. It was rumored to present no side effects. It was trumpeted in medical journal ads as “astonishingly safe” and “completely non-poisonous.”

“Love,” a new play by Alexander Zeldin, is not a grim report on poverty nor a blistering call for social reform, but simply lets the poor speak their own stories.