The Inheritance (play)

The play was commissioned by Hartford Stage in Hartford, Connecticut.[1] The play was produced in London at the Young Vic Theatre under the direction of Stephen Daldry in March 2018. The play was staged in two parts of over three hours each, intended to be viewed sequentially and reimagines E. M. Forster's Howards End as "a lovingly wry portrait of New York’s gay community",[2] "with gay men from different generations standing in for Forster’s straight people from different classes".[2] Lopez found parallels between his own life and Forster's closeted existence before the partial-decriminalisation of homosexuality, telling The New Yorker: "We’re so far apart, and yet when I read his diaries—that’s me. That’s me, a hundred years ago, as a closeted white man in England". Lopez has described that the greatest theatrical influence, despite comparisons with Tony Kushner's Angels in America[2] as being Gatz, Elevator Repair Service's 2-part, 8-hour adaptation of The Great Gatsby, inspiring his use of "self-narration".[2]

The Inheritance examines love between gay men in contemporary New York a generation after the Early AIDS Crisis.[3] It asks what the current generation owes to its forebears[4] with Rebecca Read writing in The New Yorker that lead character Eric Glass, "as the grandson of Holocaust survivors, has a personal connection to generational catastrophe, and is therefore better primed to comprehend the history of the gay community’s devastation".[2]

The production transferred to the Noël Coward Theatre in London's West End on 21 September 2018 and was produced by Tom Kirdahy, Sonia Friedman, and Hunter Arnold.[5]

The Inheritance won Best Play at the London Evening Standard Theatre Award 2018.[6] The Inheritance also won Best New Play, Best Director for Stephen Daldry and Best Actor for Kyle Soller at both the 2019 Critics' Circle Theatre Awards and the 2019 Laurence Olivier Awards, also winning an Olivier for Best Lighting for Jon Clark.[7]

The play premiered on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on 27 September 2019 in previews, with the official opening on 17 November.[8] The production features Lois Smith as Margaret, with Kyle Soller and John Benjamin Hickey, among others, reprising their roles from the London production.[9]

In December 2019, it was announced that Tony Goldwyn would replace Hickey for a four-month stint beginning in January 2020, while Hickey was set to direct a revival of Plaza Suite.[10] However, in February 2020, it was announced that The Inheritance would close on March 15, after 46 previews and 138 regular performances.[11][12] On March 12, the final four performances were cancelled when all Broadway theatres closed to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.[13]

A German language production of The Inheritance titled Das Vermächtnis, directed by Philip Stölzl, premiered at Munich's Residenztheater on January 30th 2022.[14][15] The production was invited to the Berliner Theatertreffen as one of ten "noteworthy" productions of 2022.[16]

A Danish language production of The Inheritance named Arven premiered at Royal Danish Playhouse March 25th 2023 and ran until May 13th the same year. The production was staged by Thomas Bendixen.[17]