What’s next for THE INHERITANCE?

[Braniff Forever]

Posted: 9/27/21 at 9:48am

I loved THE INHERITANCE and am so happy it won Best Play last night at the Tonys. So whats next for it? Will it tour? Will it go back to Broadway (I doubt that!) Will a filmed version appear?

It would be great if a filmed mini-series could be made like they did with Angels in America on HBO. That way, the play could be broken into smaller parts and consumed at ones leisure from home. (I actually think the filmed version of Angels was better than the live one). The length of THE INHERITANCE is maybe its only criticism, and given that it is shown in two parts, I wonder if that would give some theaters pause in wanting to present it? Too bad it cant be condensed down into one part instead of two? But Angels has been presented in two parts in multiple locations, so Im guessing THE INHERITANCE could also be produced in two parts elsewhere?

What are your thoughts about the future of THE INHERITANCE?

[Huss417]

Posted: 9/27/21 at 10:00am

I was supposed to see the closing performances but unfortunately Covid made its appearance right before. I hope it shows up somewhere in the foreseeable future.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 9/27/21 at 10:03am

I understand a production directed by Stephen Daldry is coming to the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles in 2022. Not sure if you can call it a tour exactly…

[Braniff Forever]

Posted: 9/27/21 at 10:11am

Oh wow! It’s a start! I would go to LA to see it! I loved the play very much. Thought it was extremely moving. I’m not sure why it caught on so much in London but didn’t do that well in NYC with audiences (and it was set in NYC and surrounding area). I guess the two parts scared people away when a lot of people can barely sit through a 90 minute play (let alone one for 7 hours), but I thought the time flew by on the Saturday in November 2019 when I saw both parts. It’s hard to believe it was almost two years ago that I saw the show.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 9/27/21 at 10:18am

I was so hoping that while the set sat there for a year, they’d find a way to come in and film it like they did with “Diana” and “Come From Away”. Honestly I’m still surprised they didn’t.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 9/27/21 at 10:26am

Also - I JUST found out that Matthew Lopez’ aunt is Priscilla Lopez. How did i not know this??

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 9/27/21 at 10:41am

Given that interest dropped off so quickly here, I can't imagine it being remounted for a major tour anytime soon. That said, perhaps Stephen Daldry can adapt it into a multi-part mini-series, so instead of it being the two parts, it could be 4-5 hour long episodes? I could see a UK producer doing it seeing as it did so well over there. 

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 9/27/21 at 10:48am

I wonder if they'd try to have a sit down production at a city like San Francisco (I don't know how long the LA run is scheduled for)

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 9/27/21 at 10:54am

I’d love to see The Goodman theatre, here in Chicago, pick up the Stephen Daldry Production for their next season.

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 9/27/21 at 11:06am

I feel like this is a show the Kennedy Center should remount at some point.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 9/27/21 at 11:54am

I'd love it done for a pro shot with the NYC cast.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 9/27/21 at 11:59am

An unofficial "tour" of LORT theatres like Indecent did could be a good solution for this large-scale play. But the two-part nature of it makes it tough. I don't expect to see it filmed or remounted in New York.

[Tag]

Posted: 9/27/21 at 12:01pm

Release the rights, and let it go the regional route with some high profile productions.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 9/27/21 at 12:05pm

LOLOL Tag, I read that fast and thought you said “High School Productions”

[Dollypop]

Posted: 9/27/21 at 12:31pm

Oh, can you wait to see community theaters perform this one?

(I'm still recovering from a community theater production of PAINTING CHURCHES that was so horrendous I bolted during intermission!)

[Kad]

Posted: 9/27/21 at 12:34pm

The production tanked pretty badly, and in a market that was the most primed to embrace it. Its scale and content would rule out smaller regional productions. I can really only see it being produced at larger regional theaters in metropolitan areas.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 9/27/21 at 12:42pm

Just as Harry Potter found a way to combine the two plays, it might be wise of Lopez to come up with a four hour version that could be performed in one sitting. I know naysayers will shout this down, but anyone who saw it (and have read the full text, as I have), can imagine the piece working in a tightened four hour, two-part iteration. Many theaters might contemplate staging the play that would otherwise find its epic length too daunting. I think O'Neill's Strange Interlude or the original Torch Song Trilogy might be good models. But speaking of Torch Song, the new two-act version is very effective. I read it last year and found it as satisfying as the original.  

Updated On: 9/27/21 at 12:42 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 9/27/21 at 12:50pm

It didn't shut down due to COVID per the original poster. It had already closed. 

I think a regional tour would be interesting. 

I wonder if it did so well in London because A. Theater is cheaper to produce in London and B. Wasn't it always at a non-profit in London? There was no commercial venture, right? 

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 9/27/21 at 1:07pm

The last few performances were canceled due to the Broadway shutdown, I believe that’s what the above poster was getting at.

[Huss417]

Posted: 9/27/21 at 2:00pm

RippedMan said: "It didn't shut down due to COVID per the original poster. It had already closed.

I think a regional tour would be interesting.

I wonder if it did so well in London because A. Theater is cheaper to produce in London and B. Wasn't it always at a non-profit in London? There was no commercial venture, right?"

If you are referring to my post it closed earlier because of Covid. I was supposed to go that final weekend.

Were it not for the coronavirus outbreak that forced the closure of all Broadway houses, Matthew Lopez's The Inheritance would have ended its run on Sunday, March 15, after a meager 138 performances at Broadway's Barrymore Theatre, likely a disappointment considering its imprimatur. This Story of the Week will look at how one of the most buzzed about properties in recent years became one of the industry's most surprising failures.

Updated On: 9/27/21 at 02:00 PM

[Dancingthrulife2]

Posted: 9/27/21 at 2:01pm

Please don't make it into a TV series. It's a 2 (3 maximum) hours' play dragged out to 6, with melodrama instead of substance at the core.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 9/27/21 at 2:38pm

I really hope this has a future whatever that may look like. It is truly one of the greatest pieces of theatre I have ever seen.

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 9/27/21 at 3:09pm

I would love for there to be an audiobook version, similar to how the recent National Theatre revival of ANGELS IN AMERICA was recorded with the Broadway cast.  Same with SLAVE PLAY, too, to be quite frank.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 9/27/21 at 3:23pm

Remember when they planned to extend it to June for absolutely no good reason, only to backtrack? 

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 9/27/21 at 3:31pm

Here's more precise info on the Geffen Playhouse production of THE INHERITANCE quoted from the Geffen website:

"To launch its 2022/2023 season next year, Geffen Playhouse will present the Stephen Daldry production of playwright Matthew Lopez’s The Inheritance, directed by Mike Donahue. The Inheritance was previously announced as part of the original Geffen Playhouse 25th Anniversary season."

So the Daldry production, but directed by Mike Donahue. Make of that what you will.