EXCLUSIVE: First look at the epic gay play descending on Los Angeles
The Inheritance, Part 1 sets the stage for a gay drama unlike any other this century. Its heady, literary beginning frames the story of gay thirtysomethings, Eric and Toby, through the lens of E.M.
Forester’s Howard’s End. Two performances and nearly seven hours later, audiences are left with the remnants of a dismantled zeitgeist that explores three generations of queer men grappling with their collective history.Related: ‘Girlfriend’ takes queer love back to the ’90s — with a happy endingGeffen Playhouse presents the West Coast premiere of Matthew López’s Tony Award-winning work, directed by longtime collaborator Mike Donahue.“For most of the [characters] in the play, the high of how great we thought the Obama years were, whether we were fooling ourselves or we didn’t understand what was happening in the country, a number of people were caught up in that fever dream, and the play follows the crash out of that,” Donahue told Queerty.More than a recently time-stamped period piece, The Inheritance reflects some of the responses to issues facing our country today.“It begins to ask the questions: What happens to us, and who will we become if we lose our sense of community and responsibility to each other?
A couple of weeks ago, I stood in line with 400 other gay men in a field in north LA, waiting to get the [monkeypox] vaccine for five hours.
In some ways, so much has changed, there is a government response — and that’s not to be underestimated,” Donahue said. “But I think we’re so not beyond what this play is grappling with.
