Sharing Their Stories

A young gay writer writes a story about the men in his life and the story takes on a life of its own.  This is The Inheritance, Part I and it is playing at the Bancroft Street Market under the auspices of Voices in Alliance.

We’re nearing the halfway point of this theatre season and Voices in Alliance has produced a show that ranks in my personal top five of the most poignant stories I have witnessed and will end up being one of the most talked about shows of the year. 

Matthew Lopez has written an outstanding piece of theatre.  Not only is it an incredibly compelling story, but its complexity is off the charts.  As the characters come to life, the show becomes real.  It becomes meta.  It becomes fictional.  It becomes historical.  It breaks the fourth wall.  And that’s just a few of its twists and turns.

Lopez also touches on numerous themes including love, betrayal, personal identity, running from one’s self, and a sense of community just to name a few.  Lopez’s play does more than just tell the individual stories of these men.  It also focuses on the quest for their shared history in order to preserve a legacy and create a future lest it be lost due to the passage of time, the death of mentors, and the dearth of written records.

At one point the staging of a fictional director is described as revelatory and I think that word is an apt description of Randall T. Stevens’ staging.  Using a simple square stage and benches, Stevens’ staging is satin smooth as his performers slickly enter and exit and pass around props.  His direction is of sterling quality as he has mastered this story’s intricate route and boldly leads his actors through every beat change.  Timing was razor sharp with transitions and cue pickups occurring on the turn of a dime.  Stevens’ guidance of his actors resulted in richly robust and deeply nuanced performances that will keep you riveted from start to finish. 

There isn’t a weak link in this cast and all have developed three dimensional characters and were always engaged in the story.  A lot of the fun was just watching how characters reacted to the events churning around them.  The supporting cast is largely a Greek chorus to help with narration, though they also step out to become other characters.  Strong performances are supplied by Trey, Roderick Cotton, and Justin Parsley.  Anthony Dupree Holmes and Enrique Madera make for a cute couple who share the same first name.  Rider Mattheis and Brayton Matuska shine as the prickish sons of a wealthy businessman.  John F. Carroll plays said businessman with a perfect sense of sterility.  Work and wealth drive him while companionship merely satisfies a need, but carries no sentiment with it.

Brett Foster provides a stirring and gripping performance in the dual roles of Morgan and Walter Poole.  Foster’s Morgan is a bit of a deus ex machina.  He’s a successful author who seems to exert a lot of control over the story.  Not only is he the primary narrator, but he often shapes the destiny of these characters by rerouting their trajectories and revealing their true thoughts to the audience, but not to the other characters in the play.  As good as his Morgan is, it’s his Walter Poole that will crush your heart.

Poole is a genuinely good man, but palpably carries the weight of the world on his shoulders.  Foster’s shining moment with this character is when he delivers one of the lengthiest and most engaging monologues to which I’ve ever listened.  Foster handles the difficult piece with unbelievable ease and grace as he shines a spotlight on Poole’s soul.  This is a man who has lived life and a great deal of it has been traumatic.  He’s watched many friends succumb to the AIDS onslaught of the mid-1980s.  His family couldn’t accept his orientation.  He’s in a long-term relationship with a man whom he truly loves, but to whom he seems to serve little more than a utilitarian purpose .  So engaged was I in his story that I felt as physically drained as the character (and, I’m sure, the actor) by its end.

It’s a pleasure to see Eric Grant-Leanna back on stage.  Grant-Leanna always brings such a raw honesty to his characters, but this time, that honesty is put to the test as he must honestly portray a man who is a master of self-deception.

In the role of Toby Darling, Grant-Leanna portrays a man whose real self is masked.  Darling’s cover is a sardonic, partying, caustic wit, but it hides a past so painfully brutal that he does everything in his power to erase it.  Grant-Leanna skillfully lets Toby’s real self peep out in certain moments such as real anger when others probe too close to the truth or when he professes love to a young actor.  Grant-Leanna’s best moment is when Toby engages the services of a prostitute as this moment is the closest he comes to ripping off Toby’s mask.  This man is looking for love, but doesn’t know where to find it and can never truly recognize it because he doesn’t love himself so he hopes to stumble upon it in the hopes that it can fill the hollowness in his own soul.

Jeremy Johnson brings humbleness and insight to the role of Eric Glass.  Initially, I saw Eric as a bit of a Mister Rogers.  By that I mean, he was a truly decent man and he always talked to people instead of at them or down to them.  Johnson’s Glass is always quick to pick up on the feelings of others and finds ways to make them comfortable.  Johnson brings wonderful humility to the character who doesn’t see himself as special and never realizes that his angelic nature in a cruel world is what makes him special.

Travis Manley gives a master’s class in versatility with his portrayals of Adam and Leo.  As Adam, Manley brings a shy youthfulness to the struggling actor who is taken under the wing of Glass and Darling.  What impressed me the most about Manley’s portrayal of Adam was how he made me constantly question whether his feelings towards these men were admiration or attraction or perhaps a bit of both.  Manley does bring an edge to Adam who shares an intimate story with Darling designed to simultaneously impress him and shame him for his constant little denigrations towards him.

But his switch to Leo brings an astonishing physical transformation.  As Adam, Maney is quiet and confident.  As Leo, he is quiet and shelled-over.  Leo is constantly on guard, demonstrated by his pulling his body into itself, which suits the guarded character perfectly due to his dangerous profession as a hooker.  Manley brings real truthfulness to the horrors of that lifestyle.  There’s no joy or fun in it.  It’s simply a means of survival.  Manley lets Leo’s guard down briefly due to Toby’s kindness and his actions in that moment really make you hope he can find a way out of his terrible lot.

Craig Marsh’s sounds add a further dimension to this world with his loud party music, the sounds of newscasters reporting vote returns during the 2016 election, and the simple sounds of crickets chirping and birds tweeting out in the country.  Chelsea Greenway has a gift for emotional lights and I always liked the slow transition to the blue lights during the show’s heaviest and saddest moments.  Amie James’ costumes are very natural and fitting for the characters with my favorites being Morgan/Poole’s dapper suit and the green sweater of Eric Glass which, to me, really emphasized his fatherly character.

The highest compliment I can pay this show is that it truly made me care about these people and their fates.  So much so that I need to see how this all ends when Voices in Alliance inevitably produces Part 2.  If you want powerful storytelling and top quality acting, then this is the show for you.  Mark my words, not only will this be an awards darling, but it’s also one of the best pieces of transformative theatre I’ve seen in my nearly thirty years in this business.  Act fast as sellouts are already happening.

The Inheritance, Part I runs at Bancroft Street Market through Nov 12.  Showtimes are Wed-Sat at 7pm and Sundays at 2pm.  Tickets cost $25 and can be purchased here.  Due to mature subject matter and language, this show is not suitable for children.  Bancroft Street Market is located at 2702 S 10^th St in Omaha, NE.