Profoundly touching and wickedly hilarious, Matthew Lopez’s two-part play The Inheritance, asks how much we owe to those who lived and loved before us, and questions the role we must play for future generations.
Brilliantly re-envisioning E. M. Forster’s masterpiece "Howards End" to 21st-century New York, it follows the interlinking lives of three generations of gay men searching for a community of their own – and a place to call home.
This epic new play by Matthew Lopez marks the Broadway debut of a bold new voice in American theatre, directed by visionary two-time Tony Award winner Stephen Daldry.
The Inheritance is a life-affirming journey of tears and laughter, through conflicts and connections, heartbreak and hope. A new play, generations in the making.
A certain amount of imperfection is built into ambition on this scale. The Inheritance is longer than it needs to be, yet the discussion of modern issues sometimes feels thin; the second part, which departs more freely from the Howard's End template, is less assured than the first (despite a welcome late cameo by the formidable Lois Smith), and its framing devices are overfamiliar, especially toward the finale. But at its best, as in the unforgettable sequence that concludes the first half, it taps into a profound sense of loss and a yearning for connection. If progress has come at a cost, The Inheritance is a play about remembering and honoring one's debts. As such, it feels-to quote one of its characters-like a necessary haunting.
The play proves most affecting in weaving intergenerational connections, and Lopez is adept at playing readily on heartstrings. Loss, regret, and the painful legacy of the AIDS crisis color the play's more moving moments. Quieter and more mournful than its raw and harrowing predecessors, The Inheritance lovingly turns to survivors for stories they have to bestow with the wisdom of hindsight.
2018 | West End |
West End transfer of the Young Vic production West End |
2019 | Broadway |
Broadway Premiere Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2020 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Play | Kyle Soller |
2020 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Director of a Play | Stephen Daldry |
2020 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Paul Hilton |
2020 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play | Lois Smith |
2020 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Play | The Inheritance |
2020 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Sound Design for a Play | Paul Arditti |
2020 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Paul Hilton |
2020 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Play | The Inheritance |
2020 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Director of a Play | Stephen Daldry |
2020 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | John Benjamin Hickey |
2020 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Paul Hilton |
2020 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Samuel H. Levine |
2020 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play | Lois Smith |
2020 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Broadway Play | The Inheritance |
2020 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Play | Bob Crowley |
2020 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Play | Stephen Daldry |
2020 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Play | Jon Clark |
2020 | Tony Awards | Best Original Score | Paul Englishby |
2020 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play | John Benjamin Hickey |
2020 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play | Paul Hilton |
2020 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play | Andrew Burnap |
2020 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play | Lois Smith |
2020 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Matthew Lopez |
2020 | Tony Awards | Best Scenic Design of a Play | Bob Crowley |
2020 | Tony Awards | Best Sound Design of a Play | Paul Arditti |
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