The Inheritance
- May 15, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 13
★★★★☆
My brother is the marketing director of the Unicorn Theatre. For the past several seasons, their creative has been handled by a local agency who, in the midst of the Coronavirus crisis, said they were barely hanging on and would have to pass on the upcoming season. My brother asked me if I was interested, and I said I was—this is a dream assignment that’s been on my wishlist for years. Of course, as part of the process, I have to read the plays, and so I have been. I love going to the theatre but I’ve never read a lot of plays (not unusual, I’m sure), so this has been a relatively novel experience for me. In any case, at the conclusion of reading each play, I’ve dashed off initial impressions via text to my brother. For these plays, unlike my more measured, more thoughtful book reviews, I’ll be using those slapdash messages.
The Inheritance is a play in two parts. Here’s what I wrote at the conclusion of the first: Initial thoughts: a totally in-your-face, get over your homophobia and/or get okay with the (very and intimately) queer or get the fuck out first act turns into a solid but relatively straightforward drama that no longer feels specific to gays/homosexuals—which I think is the point. When a subculture goes mainstream, everything about it goes mainstream and/or gets co-opted. The themes become less specific and more universal. Which is, on the one hand, something for gays to mourn, but, other the other hand, celebrate. A loss is a win … a win is a loss.
And at the conclusion of the second part: What started as a romp turned melodramatic and finally powerful and moving—if at times a little heavy-handed and preachy. Not as visceral and thrilling as Dance Nation but it feels vital and necessary and important without feeling too self-important too much of the time. A worthy play for the Unicorn to reach for and try to do it justice.
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