The Inheritance makes its West Coast premiere at Geffen Playhouse
BY PATRICK BROWN
P
laywright Matthew López brings his epic two-part play to the intimate Westwood theater this September after its Oliver and Tony Award-winning runs on Broadway and the West End. Inspired by the novel Howards End, The Inheritance is set in contemporary New York and examines the love between gay men a generation after the AIDS epidemic.
Eric Glass (Adam Kantor) and Toby Darling (Juan Castano) are 30-somethings who seem to be very much in love and thriving. But on the cusp of their engagement, they meet an older man haunted by the past, and a younger man hungry for a future. Chance meetings lead to surprising choices as the lives of three generations interlink and collide—with explosive results.
“I’ve taken the ideas of Howards End and I’ve used it to ask some questions,” says López. “What are the responsibilities from one generation of gay men to another? What have I inherited from the generation before me? And what are my responsibilities to the generation that comes after me?”
“A masterpiece! It flew by and left me wanting more.”
— Adam Green, Vogue
Featuring an all-star cast including Tuc Watkins (Uncoupled, The Boys in the Band), Nic Ashe (Choir Boy, Queen Sugar), Adam Kantor (The Band’s Visit, Rent), Juan Castano (What/If, Encanto), and Tantoo Cardinal (Dances with Wolves, Stumptown), The Inheritance promises to be one of the meatier (ahem!) theater offerings in Los Angeles this fall.
Told in two parts, audiences have the choice to binge the epic all in one day, or spread their theatrical feast over multiple days during the Sep 13–Nov 27 run. “We knew the challenge going into this was convincing an audience to see a two-part play,” says López. “When we were at the Young Vic in London, an audience referred to each act as an ‘episode’ rather than act. That was a new experience for me to hear it compared to a Netflix series, but it’s something that we actually embrace.”
Based on the original Stephen Daldry production, The Inheritance is directed by Mike Donahue Little Shop of Horrors, The Legend of Georgia McBride) and features a five-ton lift built into the stage that rises and falls throughout the play. Deceivingly minimal, audiences are freed to focus on the drama at hand as the cleverly designed set morphs around the actors.
There’s no better place for such an epic experience than at the Geffen Playhouse, a charming and nearly 100-year-old theater nestled on the edge of the UCLA campus in Westwood. But a word of advice: be sure to pack some tissues. “I challenge any theatergoer without a heart not to cry,” says Ben Brantley of the New York Times. Audiences are in for an emotionally-charged ride.
The Inheritance (Part 1 & Part 2)
Written by Matthew López
Directed by Mike Donahue
September 13–November 27, 2022
Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles
Tickets start at $30.
www.geffenplayhouse.org
