Strong family ties seem more important in the uncertainty of a post-9/11 world, and The Rep’s production of Stephen Karam’s The Humans does an admirable job of delving into the complexities and conflicts of those relationships. Shown on the theater’s mainstage, the Tony Award-winning play spotlights the Blake family, whose daughter Brigid (Lauren Marcus) has moved to New York City’s Chinatown to live with her boyfriend, Richard (Fajer Kaisi). The entire story takes place in their two-level apartment during Thanksgiving dinner with her family.
Times are tough, so the meal at their new digs, complete with folding chairs and plastic cups, is far from luxurious. But the family, which also includes Brigid’s parents, sister and grandmother, still manages to connect with each other in convoluted, tough-love ways. Outbursts of anger and pain are balanced with sudden moments of wry humor, tenderness and affection. Harsh family secrets are revealed, but there is a clear message that we are all flawed and need forgiveness.
I enjoyed the progression of insights into each character’s struggles. Brigid can’t find a job; her parents, Erik (Brian Dykstra) and Deirdre (Carol Schultz) are having marital problems; sister Aimee (Kathleen Wise) is ill and has suffered a breakup and job loss; and grandmother Momo (Darrie Lawrence) is in a wheelchair, battling dementia. Only Richard’s life seems relatively stable, and his gentle attempts to be accepted into Brigid’s loud, testy family are touching. There are several moments when everyone is talking across each other in a cacophony of miscommunication, but eventually, they begin to listen to one another.
Erik and Aimee narrowly escaped the collapse of the Twin Towers on 9/11, so that experience colors their actions and emotions as well. At one point, Erik wonders aloud whether it has simply become too difficult to exist in our stressful, modern world.
There are some challenges to presenting a play on a dual-level stage. Besides creating a physical division and communication barrier between characters, it causes psychological tension and emotional distance among them as well. But the split setup allows for some poignant moments, too. At times, characters stand completely still at one end of the spiral staircase, listening secretly to their family members’ conversations about them.
If you can make it to one of the performances that includes a post-show discussion with the cast and director Steven Woolf, it’s well worth sticking around. It’s so interesting to hear how real people prepare to become fictional characters! And it’s a two-way street. On the night I attended, audience members gave the actors some fascinating insights into how effectively they were communicating on stage.
upcoming shows
anything goes | march 1-24
New Line Theatre presents Cole Porter’s classic at The Marcelle.
chicago | march 2-4
The longest-running American musical in Broadway history takes the stage at The Fabulous Fox.
judy garland: come rain or come shine | april 12-15
Angela Ingersoll portrays the legendary singer and film star at the Playhouse at Westport Plaza.
Pictured at top: On the set of The Humans
Photo: Jerry Naunheim Jr.