'The Humans' at the Helen Hayes Theater

Broadway Review: ‘The Humans’ at The Helen Hayes Theater nytheatreguide.com /2016/02/broadway-review-the-humans-at-the-helen-hayes-theater/ By Tommy 2/22/2016 Partl Reed Birney, Sarah Steele, Jayne Houdyshell, Cassie Beck and Arian Moayed in The Humans. Photo by Joan Marcus The Humans is a powerful slice of life play. It deals with an average family from Scranton, Pennsylvania, the Blakes, on Thanksgiving. Throughout the play, individual family struggles and traditions play out in a believable and excellently performed production. While there are no magical elements, Director Joe Mantello expertly manipulates sound and light to create an atmosphere to complement the play’s subtle metaphors. Stephen Karam’s book flows well, and without any dragging moments. The play’s 90 minutes speed by at an smooth pace. .so realistic that it truly feels like you’re peering into a family’s life. Brigid (played by Sarah Steele) has just moved into a small Chinatown apartment with her boyfriend, Richard (played by Arian Moayed), a sociology student. Brigid’s family, including her sister, mother, father, and grandmother, are visiting for Thanksgiving. Brigid’s sister Aimee (played by Cassie Beck) is battling both professional and relationship battles. Her father, Erik (played by Reed Birney) holds a stern presence over the play. His wife, Deirdre (played by Jayne Houdyshell) is a religious woman who works as an office manager. Her daughters aren’t the most religious people, creating a mild tension, which, in the way only family can, amplifies to exasperation. Moma, Aimee and Brigid’s grandmother, (played by Lauren Klein) is a mostly silent presence. She’s suffering from the final stages of Alzheimer’s Disease, and her sudden outbursts are a foreboding presence throughout the play, like a spectre of death in proceedings. The performances are outstanding, and the cast has such chemistry that it feels like a genuine family. In particular, Reed Birney carries much emotional weight in the drama, as his character, Erik, is harboring a deep family secret. In addition to that, he also has individual moments with every cast member as the patriarch of the family. He assures Aimee in her relationship struggles. He’s a caring son to his ailing mother. He’s warm, but not too warm, to Richard’s 1/2 overeager requests for approval. He also handles the play’s more abstract lines, like when he describes a horrible dream and a final scene that carries heavy metaphorical weight. He runs an acting decathlon by managing so many character relationships, holding back secrets, and taking over the stage in individual scenes. Advertisement Cassie Beck’s portrayal of Aimee also is noticeable. With an upcoming surgery and a relationship in tatters, her character’s struggles are primarily offstage, yet she still manages to portray the immense stress weighing on her character with vividness. She, Sarah Steele, and Jayne Houdyshell have an excellent dynamic with their mother- daughter-daughter trio, fraught with microaggressions that lead into full-on arguments. Houdyshell’s Deirdre passive-aggressively gifts Brigid a Virgin Mary statue to illustrate her disapproval of her daughter’s atheism. The resulting scene, with its reserved antagonism and irritation, shows how these actresses are able to conjure decades of disagreement in just a few minutes. It’s little moments like this where the performers in The Humans excel and create a lifelike family portrait. The play’s set design, done by David Zinn, is as charismatic as the actors. The stage is a cross-section of a two- story apartment. Windows look out onto realistic brick walls, and doorways open into realistic hallways. It truly feels like an apartment has been cut out, like a slice of cake, and planted into the Helen Hayes Theater. The play’s sound design is also a standout. The apartment’s creaks, thuds, and groans echo strongly in the theater. They play like the drums of hell and reverberate like the inevitability of death, shame, and sin echoing through each character’s mind. Towards the end of the play, the lighting becomes an essential part of the setting and story. The blackouts and sudden shafts of light are artfully crafted. Director Joe Mantello creates a sense of complete isolation in a theater of 500 people. As with most ensemble productions, each character gets their moment in the spotlight (or, perhaps, under the magnifying glass). What’s unique about The Humans, though, is that the set’s two stories along for simultaneous action, often exploited to excellent juxtaposition. Characters near the stairs will overhear other character’s lines, and characters can have asides to each other while other characters remain onstage, just on another floor. The Humans is a play that, on the surface, seems simple. The family drama isn’t life or death, and most of the play is playful banter at the Thanksgiving table. Yet, powerful performances and a remarkable set design combine to create a true recreation of everyday life on the stage. This totally immersive play is a perfect example of average life brought to life. The performances, characters, and set are so realistic that it truly feels like you’re peering into a family’s life. Running Time: 90 minutes, no intermission Advisory: Adult themes The Humans runs from now until July 22nd at The Helen Hayes Theater, 240 West 44th Street, between 7th Avenue and 8th Avenue. For more information and tickets, click here. 2/2.

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