Review: THE INHERITANCE PART I on ZACH's Kleberg Stage

As a young Puerto Rican growing up in Florida, playwright Matthew Lopez read in a magazine about the acclaimed Merchant Ivory film adapted from E.M. Forster's novel Howards End, and asked his mom to take him to see the film. Since his outlets as a young man were books, theatre and movies, it stands to reason that Howards End and E.M. Forster play such a literally integral role in Lopez's sprawling theatrical adaptation of the novel. His mother later also bought Lopez the book. He fell in love with it, and fell in love with Forster or, more specifically, Forster's queerness.

Forster spent his life as a closeted gay man, despite having written a queer Bible that was published after his death. Playwright Lopez, on rereading Howards End in his 30's, grew in empathy for Forster, and found himself inspired to queer up his favorite novel by his favorite author. THE INHERITANCE is a rewriting of this novel, an opportunity, if you will, for Lopez to set Forster free and pay him tribute. This in short, is the origin of Lopez's THE INHERITANCE, a sprawling work of theatre now playing on ZACH's Kleberg stage.

THE INHERITANCE is not just a living homage to Forster, but to the gay men of our most recent history, who gratefully got us to our current, much more accepting status. Thousands of those gay men were silenced in death during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980's. Some of my own friends fell victim to AIDS during this "history" Lopez connects us to - a history only one short generation ago, when AIDS meant death and a 40 year old Anthony Fauci was trapped between ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) and a resistant scientific community that ignored his attempt to include gay men in their research.

THE INHERITANCE opens by using the age old theatre device of a Chorus (in this case a dozen gay men) to tell us this story. Telling instead of showing is risky, and with three and a half hours before us, one might find themselves skeptical. Lopez has soaring ambitions, a commitment to giving us a sweeping range of big ideas, and a kaleidoscope of stories and characters to share. He delivers though, albeit at times didactically, and at others with a heart wrenching depth of emotion. Lopez takes us on a ride through a vast terrain that spans the map from pedantic to lusty.

This chorus of men are all writing their own stories, and they summon the spirit of E.M. Forster to help them. Specific to this story are millennials Eric (Christopher Joel Onken) and Toby (Jake Roberson) who stand in for Forster's characters Helen and Margaret Schlagel. Eric is a Jewish, middle class, political activist lawyer living in a rent controlled apartment in New York and his boyfriend Toby is a gamophobic aspiring playwright who hides his less privileged, traumatic past in drinking, sex and selfish ambition. They are friends with Walter Poole (a riveting Peter Frechette) and Henry Wilcox (Scott Galbreath) an older wealthy gay couple. They also befriend and "mentor" a young gay actor named Adam (Brenden Kyle MacDonald), who thickens the plot when he arrives to retrieve a bag Eric confused with his at a concert. If you know Howards End, you'll recognize these characters as Ruth Wilcox, Henry Wilcox, and Leonard Bast. In THE INHERITANCE, the class divides from Howards End also become generational and political.

Dave Steakley directs with a deft, if minimal hand that matches scenic designer Josafeth Reynoso's sparse and functional set. This is both an excellent blank slate to draw out the story, which actor and chalk artist Kriston Woodrow literally does throughout the play. The chalk, indeed, becomes a significant prop during one of the most moving scenes of the play. Christopher Joel Onken gives us a likable Eric, Jake Roberson provides an energetic Toby, and Brenden Kyle MacDonald is an earnest Adam. A captivating Peter Frechette plays a perfectly idiosyncratic E.M. Forster with impeccable timing, and doubles as an entirely engrossing Walter. No small feat, when called to deliver one of the longest monologues I can recall in recent playgoing.

The whole play is no small feat for any of the actors, who are up against performing this decidedly lengthy play that tells more than it shows. Many critics have hailed Lopez for this clever narrative device of writing, but it also leaves us to observe the characters, rather than feel alongside them. It is hard to tell if the script, the actor or director are at fault when some of the scenes seem like shouting matches that could be more nuanced, monologues seem more like an exercise in an acting class than a scene in a full play, and characters can seem at times as two dimensional.

As for me, it's a yes and kind of play. Yes, THE INHERITANCE looks at hard subjects, and it doesn't necessarily address them. Yes, Lopez lovingly and beautifully connects the contemporary gay men of New York with those whose voices were silenced in the 1980's, and his characters represent a group of LGBTQ+ individuals who are largely pretty, cisgender, white, gay men. Yes, scenes soar to heights (or plunge to depths) of great emotion, and others reduce sex between two men to either comedy or trauma. Yes, Lopez acknowledges the current political struggles the LGBTQ+ community is facing, and a main character who is a political activist lawyer doesn't flinch about being in a relationship with a capitalist republican. Yes, THE INHERITANCE is epic, and it does not reach as far as its oft compared sibling, ANGELS IN AMERICA. Did I like it? Yes and no.

These observations may seem harsh, but I implore you, don't let them stop you from embracing the relevance of this play. In the current societal climate, the themes in THE INHERITANCE are vital to explore. And the play is worthy of deep discourse. This is a polished and professional production of a playwright's fondness for a great, gay novelist who could not live his life as his full self. It is a simultaneously entertaining and important work that reminds us of what LGBTQ+ millennials can and should celebrate from the hard earned past. Ultimately, THE INHERITANCE is an evocative dedication to the past, present and future of the gay community and the stories it tells. These voices and stories should be heard and we should take a chance to listen.

THE INHERITANCE PART I

by Matthew Lopez

Directed by Dave Steakley

ZACH Kleburg Theatre

202 S Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78704

August 10th through September 4th

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