The holidays may be over, but it’s still Thanksgiving at Geva Theatre Center — if only on the Wilson Stage, where
“The Humans” runs through March 17. “The Humans” was written by young
playwright Stephen Karam and opened off-Broadway in
2015. It transferred to Broadway the next year and won the 2016 Tony Award for
Best New Play. Geva Theatre Center is a co-producing
“The Humans” with Syracuse Stage (it will run there April 24 through May 12).
The plot
follows the Blake family on Thanksgiving 2013, as three generations gather in
youngest daughter Brigid’s Chinatown duplex. Brigid’s parents and grandmother
have driven in from blue collar Scranton, Pennsylvania for the day, and her
lawyer sister Aimee has taken the train in from Philadelphia. Also joining the family
gathering is Brigid’s roommate and boyfriend, Richard.
Each scene
could be plucked from any family gathering, at first filled with warmth and
reunion. But as with any family function, there’s soon an elephant in each room
of the tiny duplex. Middle class Irish parents Erik (Skip Greer) and Dierdre (Toni DiBueno) have
raised their daughters Catholic, and Dierdre,
especially, struggles with the fact that her adult children have abandoned the
faith. Erik’s mother and matriarch of the family, Fiona “Momo”
(Susanne Marley), is present as well, but she’s battling dementia and drifts in
and out of consciousness. Aimee (Madeleine Lambert) has just broken up with her
longtime girlfriend and has contracted an intestinal illness, and Brigid (Regan
Moro) is an unemployed musician who’s currently bartending. Her boyfriend,
Richard (ThamerJendoubi)
is working on a graduate degree at age 38.
The issues
raised in “The Humans” are reminiscent of conversations every family has at
some point — financial, age, health, careers — and director Mark Cuddy guides
the ensemble’s chemistry in such an authentic way that it’s easy to forget
there isn’t a real family onstage. Greer, who is also an artist-in-residence
and director of education at Geva Theatre, gives the
performance of his career in the role of a loving-yet-haunted father. Opposite
him, DiBuono impressively embodies every doting
mother on earth, from sending care packages and forwarding emails and giving
the latest “bad news” updates from back home in Scranton. As dementia-suffering
Momo, Marley is truly brilliant, teetering between
mumblings and anger outbursts. (She also covered and played the role on
Broadway.)
As eldest
daughter Aimee, Lambert portrays a complex character who’s trying to stay
strong for her family as her personal life falls apart. (Lambert’s last role at
Geva was as Susan B. Anthony in “The Agitators,” and
this performance truly highlights her artistic range.) Moro, a Geva newcomer, plays the carefree younger daughter of the
family. She’s excited to show her parents the new-to-her duplex apartment, but
isn’t quite cut out to play host yet. As Brigid’s older boyfriend, Jendoubi bestows a calming presence throughout the show,
and captures the essence of being an outsider at a family gathering.
The sets,
costumes, and props were all produced by Geva staff,
which speaks to the level of creative excellence coming out of the city’s
regional professional theater. A two-story set design by Tim Mackabee provides an always interesting, flowing backdrop
for the play’s many character interactions. Costume design by Christina Selian succinctly captures each personality. Dramaturg
Becca Poccia Hays has also written insightful program
notes that should not be skipped.
Cuddy and
the cast create moments throughout “The Humans” that will undoubtedly make
audience members laugh and ache thinking of their own family units. Packed with
powerful acting, unexpected plot twists, and poignant moments, “The Humans” is,
without a doubt, the show to see this season.
This article appears in Feb 27 – Mar 5, 2019.
