New York Magazine - USA (2019-11-25)

108 newyork| november25–december8, 2019

THEATER/ HELENSHAW

LostConnection

TheInheritancestartsoutsopowerfully

thatit’s unsustainable.

howdoyourecommendTheInheritance? It’simmense,soofferingit to
someonefeelslikeaskingthemtohelpyoucarry somethingheavy.Thisisn’t an
evening’s entertainment.It’lleat a weekofyourlife.Constructedasa two-partBroadway
marathon—PartOneis a three-hour-and-15-minutecomictragedy,andPartTwois a
three-hour-and-ten-minutemelodrama—itleanshard enoughonE.M.Forster’sHow-
ardsEndthat youmightwanttospenda day ortworeadingit inpreparation.Then
there’s thepost-showanguishtoreckonwith:TheplaywrightMat-
thewLopez’sskillat communicatingsorrowmightshatteryoufor
hours,maybedays.Andwhiletheplay hassublimesections,under
allthatweightit wobbles.Its most obviousforebear,AngelsinAmer-
ica,alsois longandtaxing,alsograppleswithaids, alsolooksatthe
wholecountrythroughonebadbreakupinNewYorkCity. Butthis
ain’tAngels.Lopezharnessesexhilaratingforcesbutthengets

theater / movies / pop

draggedbythem,onlytoregaincontrol for

a moment,thenge t yankedoff hisfeet.

Lopezisinterestedintheways things

likereviewsandrecommendations are

really shibboleths,thepasswords that

determinea community.Tasteand the

transmissionoftastelinkhischaracters.

Thespecific lineage ofgay menhere don’t

share genetic ties, butthey do share

books—Giovanni’sRoom,Maurice, Sense

andSensibility—andfilmsandmusic and

dance.They usereadinglistsand refer-

encestoseduceortestoneanother, to

cementbonds,andtowelcomenewcomers.

Soeventhoughtheplay fallsfrompathos

intobathos,andLopez’snovelisticcontrol

eventuallyturnspurple,it’s preciousforthis

eminentqualityoftenderness.TheInheri-

tanceseemstohavebeenmadespecifically

forthepreviousgeneration.Sittinginan

audienceof weepingmen,youcouldalmost

seetheyoungactorspassingtheplay down PHOTOGRAPH: MATTHEW MURPHY

The CULTURE PAGES

CRITICS

Helen Shaw on The Inheritance ... David Edelstein on Marriage Story ...

Craig Jenkins on Magdalene.

THEINHERITANCE

BY MATTHEWLOPEZ.

ETHELBARRYMORE

THEATRE.

The Inheritance