Review: THE INHERITANCE, PART II at Trinity Rep

As Part II of Trinity Rep's production of The Inheritance begins, screens to the left and right of the stage display the most famous line that early 20th century British novelist E.M. Forster ever wrote: "Only connect."

The quotation is an apt beginning to the second part of Matthew López's Tony-winning play - not only because it's from Howard's End, upon which The Inheritance is loosely based, but because Part II of The Inheritance is a many-faceted meditation upon the connections that haunt and heal the circle of gay men at its heart.

The play's first part - which Trinity is running concurrently with Part II - introduced audiences to three generations of gay men living in mid-2010s New York City. Their shared cultural legacy - which reverberates with ghosts of the AIDS crisis - is steeped in grief that some wish to bury, and others seek to unearth. As these conflicting desires explode in Part II, each one is faced with the ways they have failed to care for each other, and each must make a choice: Let hidden wounds fester, infecting those around them, or mend their personal relationships and shared histories by bringing those wounds to light.

Part II continues the stories of Toby Darling (Taavon Gamble) and Eric Glass (Jack Dwyer), two thirty-something lovers whose relationship crumbles as each forms deep, cross-generational bonds with other men. As Toby falls in love first with Adam, then Leo - two younger men (both played by Chingwe Padraig Sullivan) with starkly different degrees of privilege - Eric befriends Walter (Stephen Thorne), an older man who survived the AIDS epidemic of the 80s, before he cultivates an unlikely affection toward Walter's partner, Henry (Mauro Hantman). But these relationships are haunted by ghosts of the near and distant pasts, leading each man to reckon with the responsibilities they bear toward each other. In doing so, they are invited to reimagine the intertwined histories they share, weaving radical love into a legacy of unforgettable loss.

LIke Part I, the second installment of The Inheritance is brought to life by an accomplished ensemble of performers, deftly directed by longtime company member Joe Wilson, Jr. Sullivan continues to shine, here bringing an aching vulnerability to their portrayal of Leo, a homeless sex worker who falls deeply in love with an increasingly reckless Toby. Hantman also stands out, creating moments when Henry's studied emotional restraint cracks, revealing the well of unresolved trauma buried below his cool surface.

And Tobias Wilson (as Tristan) and Jackie Davis (as Margaret) deliver spellbinding performances of the play's two tour-de-force monologues - Tristan's an extended comparison of HIV to the decline of American democracy, Margaret's a captivating retelling of how regret for abandoning her own son, a friend of Walter's who died of AIDS, fueled her unfailing care for the many young men who followed him.

Its poignant and complicated performances - buoyed by a thoughtful and cohesive artistic vision - make Trinity Rep's production of The Inheritance one that evokes deep emotion to inspire deeper healing. It's riveting, engrossing, and genuinely cathartic theater.

Trinity Rep's The Inheritance, Part II runs through November 6 at 201 Washington Street, Providence, RI. Part I of the two-part production is running simultaneously with Part II, with its last performance on November 5.

Tickets to each installment of The Inheritance start at $25. They are available online at www.trinityrep.com and via phone at 401-351-4242.

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