The angst, anguish and amity of the American middle class are first coaxed - then shoved - into the light in this uproarious, hopeful, and heart-breaking play that takes place over the course of a family dinner on Thanksgiving. Breaking with tradition, Erik Blake (Birney) has brought his Pennsylvania family to celebrate and give thanks at his daughter's apartment in lower Manhattan. As darkness falls outside the ramshackle pre-war duplex, and eerie things start to go bump in the night, the Blake clan's deepest fears and greatest follies are laid bare. Our modern age of anxiety is keenly observed, with humor and compassion, in this new American classic.
...not every show manages a Broadway transfer with equal grace, and I wondered if the some of the qualities that made it special Off Broadway -- the sharpness of Joe Mantello's staging, the ease of the ensemble acting, the audience's shared awareness of being in the dark -- could survive a transfer to a larger theater. I needn't have worried. The Humans is just as funny, just as moving and just as sneakily unsettling in its new Broadway incarnation, and retains its essential intimacy...Seeing the play a second time, and knowing some of its secrets, makes it even more compelling; you're more alert to what some of the characters aren't saying.
Most great American dramas of familial anguish and conflict are driven by outrageous individual behavior. But what distinguishes Stephen Karam's inestimably kind, rich and beautiful new play 'The Humans'...is not that Karam lacks awareness of human failings. On the contrary, his characters wear their flaws on their sleeves. But while this extraordinarily talented young writer has an innate sense of dramatic tension and theatricality, he also has a rare understanding that you do not need to pop pills or hit the liquor cabinet for tragedy to bang persistently on your door...Mantello has cast a plethora of superb ensemble actors...'The Humans' is written without excessive sentiment but also without condescension, and Mantello and his cast avoid both those qualities.
2015 | Off-Broadway |
Roundabout Theatre Company Off-Broadway Production Off-Broadway |
2016 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
2017 | US Tour |
First National Tour US Tour |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Play | The Humans |
2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Director of a Play | Joe Mantello |
2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design for a Play | Justin Townsend |
2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Play | The Humans |
2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Sound Design in a Play | Fitz Patton |
2016 | Drama Desk Awards | Special Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble | The Humans |
2016 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Reed Birney |
2016 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Jayne Houdyshell |
2016 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play | Stephen Karam |
2016 | New York Drama Critics Circle Awards | Best Play | The Humans |
2016 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Play | Reed Birney |
2016 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Play | Jayne Houdyshell |
2016 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Director of a Play | Joe Mantello |
2016 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Broadway Play | Stephen Karam |
2016 | The Lortels | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play | Lauren Klein |
2016 | The Lortels | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play | Reed Birney |
2016 | The Lortels | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play | Jayne Houdyshell |
2016 | The Lortels | Outstanding Lighting Design | Justin Townsend |
2016 | The Lortels | Outstanding Scenic Design | David Zinn |
2016 | The Lortels | Outstanding Sound Design | Fitz Patton |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Play | Joe Mantello |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Play | Justin Townsend |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play | Reed Birney |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play | Jayne Houdyshell |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Stephen Karam |
2016 | Tony Awards | Best Scenic Design of a Play | David Zinn |
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