Stephen Karam’s The Humans was one of the most highly-acclaimed plays of the 2015-2016 Broadway season. It was that rare play that unified critics for its depiction of a contemporary family dealing with the anxiety and fears of what it means to be alive today. With all but one member of the original cast returning for this engagement, The Humans opens this week at the Ahmanson Theatre and will run through July 29th. (This is the last stop of the tour.)
The Humans takes place during a Thanksgiving dinner. The patriarch of the family, Erik Blake (Tony winner Reed Birney) gathers his family at his daughter’s Lower Manhattan apartment to celebrate the holiday. But the celebration doesn’t go exactly as planned for a variety of reasons. Tony winner Jayne Houdyshell plays his wife, Deirdre. Joe Mantello, a recent Tony-nominee for his direction of Three Tall Women on Broadway this year, directs.
Stephen Karam is best known for his plays Sons of the Prophet and Speech and Debate.
Though only 95 minutes in length, The Humans is an intense play and recommended for teenagers and above.