28 Feb The Humans

There’s a reason why Stephen Karam’s new play The Humans is every critic’s top pick for the spring Broadway season. It’s just that exceptional. Every theatrical element has come together in a perfect fusion of talent and skill for this show.

The story and plot are not necessarily exceptional—the issues at hand are well trod and conventional—it is the writing and execution that elevates the material to an extraordinary 80 minutes in the theatre.

The play deals with a family coming to grips with their relationships to each other, a sense of loss and accepting circumstances that may not be ideal from respective perspectives—a mother to daughters, sister to sister, husband to wife, father to daughters and girlfriend to boyfriend. The dialogue sparkles with natural ebb and flow and the action is completely realistic so that as audience, it’s more like seeing through walls into the operational cogs of a family.

The performances are gorgeously rendered in familiar and believable behaviors. The cast has tremendous chemistry and have formed a tightly-knit, cohesive and polished group. They all stand out in their unique ways and have equal strength with the material and their roles.

The set is also fantastic. It’s always exciting to watch a show with a two story environment. The large but shabby duplex situated in what might be a dicey part of a Chinatown neighborhood has all the facets that New Yorkers could certainly identify with—old; barred windows looking onto brick walls; cobbled together rooms; and building noises that bring fear of collapse. All symbols of what the characters are working through with themselves and each other.

The Humans is simply theatre at its most powerful and inspired. Learn more at The Humans.