Review - The Inheritance

I wasn't sure I was going to be able to see The Inheritance - it came from London with such hype that discounts weren't immediately available.  Plus, as a two-part play, logistics become that much more difficult.  Strangely though, ticket demand isn't as high here as it was in London and discount offers abound, though I still hadn't hurried to get a ticket, mainly due to negative word-of-mouth amongst people whose opinion I generally trust (other trustworthy friends raved, though, for full disclosure).  My generous Tony-voter boss invited me to join her, since we were both reluctant to go and reluctant to NOT go; we figured we were each other's perfect seat neighbors.  Wednesday was the day and I watched both parts of The Inheritance in one day.  Nearly seven hours of theater.  And I lived to tell the tale.

To get down to brass tacks, I'm glad I saw The Inheritance - I laughed a lot and I cried.  A LOT.  I actually wish I had been more prepared for the final scene of the first part; I was quite nearly completely undone.  Even Ralph Fiennes seemed to look on me with pity (more on him later).  The nearly seven hours flew by and I enjoyed the experience of seeing both plays very much.  Maybe my back didn't, it really started to ache by the end.  But I probably could've done more to stretch it out during the intermissions.  I will also say that I thought part one was significantly better than part two, but maybe that's just me.

Clearly, a play that's 'inspired' by EM Forster's Howards End is going to be in my wheelhouse.  A play that's about New York and New Yorkers, and about the LGBTQ experience is going to be in my wheelhouse.  A big messy play, with big ideas, is going to be in my wheelhouse.  So all signs pointed towards my finding The Inheritance a satisfying theatrical experience.  And it was, for the most part, especially during the throes of seeing it.  Maybe thinking about it after has been less satisfying.

For me, the storytelling parts of the play were most successful - I thought the parallels and deviations from Howards End were quite innovative, delightful, and very often moving.  The characters were involving and the acting was fantastic.  The 'I'm telling an important story' parts of the play were less successful.  Whether it was actually there or not, I felt the author telling me that his play was important and I felt the actors telling me that the play was important.  You know what I mean - a certain tone or performance behavior spills into the proceedings and it's not about the story anymore.  Anyway, I felt that sporadically during the presentations and I found those moments unsatisfying, though they didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the piece. 

photo credit: Matthew Murphy

Watching how the story unfolds and how certain characters and situations mirror situations from Howards End is part of the delight of The Inheritance, so I'm reluctant to share much plot.  I guess I'll say that the play begins with a bunch of young men, trying to write, and the 'spirit' of EM Forster arrives and helps them begin and edit the story they're all trying to tell.  What follows is a mishmash of direct address, scenework, and commentary on what's happening.  Who begins the story and who ends it was a surprise to me, though I was unsure if a particular character earned their status by the end (oh, do you hate me for being vague?!?!).  I was absorbed throughout by the (mostly) sparkling dialogue and engaging performances (most especially Kyle Soller as Eric and John Benjamin Hickey [an absolute treasure of the American theater] as Henry Wilcox).  And speaking of absolute treasures of the American theater, Lois Smith is DIVINE.  I had actually forgotten she was in the play and she arrived as a beautiful miracle.  But, really, the whole ensemble is first-rate.

Seeing a story, in this day and age, about the gay community and what they owe to each other, and how America as a whole is not living up to what it's supposed to be, was obviously quite moving to me.  I was reminded of dear friends who are no longer with us and I found myself identifying with different characters throughout.  The reminder of election night 2016 was seriously depressing, but the redemption and acceptance by the end of The Inheritance was glorious.

photo credit: Sara Krulwich

Because I'm me, of course I have to quibble: I will also say that although the cast is diverse, the main story being told is about a certain set of white men of privilege, and even though that privilege is called out, it doesn't change the fact that it's the focus of the story.  So that nagged at me afterwards.  The issues of class are frequently clumsily handled, in my opinion.  And, for me, the second part got repetitive and less emotionally engaging, but that could be because I was completely wrung out by the end of the first part.  Oh, and I had some difficulty with the severely graphic language, which seemed to be gratuitous, in my opinion.  Even the men in love can't describe the sex act less violently?  Even when they're lying?  But I digress.  I've already mentioned my quibbles with the 'look at me, I'm important' parts of the play, but I should balance my quibbles with gushing over the authentic humor sprinkled throughout, which made the devastations later on that much more profound.

Seat-neighbor-wise, most of the house was filled with people ready to see both parts, so we all settled in and got cozy with one another, knowing we'd be spending a lot of time together.  The delightful gents next to me found my dropped ear muffs and then patted my arm when I was so upset.  There are two intermissions in each part of The Inheritance and it wasn't until the second intermission of the first part when I looked to my right and saw Ralph Fiennes in the row in front of me.  I turned to my generous Tony voter boss and said (a little too loudly), "Oh my god, it's Ralph Fiennes!"  We then had a little conversation about getting way too excited over star sightings.  When we all returned for the evening performance of the second part, I don't think I'm imagining that Ralph and I made eye contact and I think he looked concerned about my well-being.  That's how I choose to interpret things and I'm sticking to it.   

There were quite a few people in the audience who clearly had no knowledge of Howards End or EM Forster, because when a few direct plot points happened, you could hear "NO!" or "WHY?!" or "Oh my god!"  Oh, and there was a line about Actors Equity that made someone laugh REALLY LOUDLY, so then the rest of the audience laughed, too. OH, and another thing, during the first intermission, when people checked their cell phones, you could hear a lot of emergency tones going off, telling us about the weather.  Unfortunately, not many people turned their phones back off, because that stupid alert was heard really throughout the second act of part one.  It was really annoying, but other than that, it was a really engaged audience who jumped to their feet at the end of part two.

I would definitely recommend The Inheritance to anyone, since it's directed and acted so magnificently (interestingly, there's a plot point [SPOILER ALERT] about a playwright whose play is presented on Broadway and the direction and acting get raves, but the script itself doesn't...hmmmm...).  There's a lot of intelligence, heart, humor, and sadness in this play (in a good theatrical way, of course).  If pressed, I would probably share my quibbles, but I would also rave about the astoundingly moving end of the first part, which can only come from a communal experience at a play in a theater.  So not a bad end to my theatergoing for 2019...