Overview
Synopsis
Matthew Lopez’ epic play, The Inheritance reimagines E.M. Forster’s Howard’s End as a contemporary portrait of New York’s gay community. A generation after the height of the AIDS crisis, the play explores what it is like to be a young gay man in New York. What does the current generation owe to its forebears? At the center of the play stands Eric Glass, around whom characters swirl in and out of love, apartments, and arguments. The Inheritance addresses serious questions about sexual identity as well as asking what the gay community has lost, and also gained, in the last twenty years.
The Inheritance is written in two parts, designed to be seen sequentially. Part One runs at just over 3 hours. It contains nudity and explicit content.
Show Information
- Book
- Matthew Lopez
- Based on the Play/Book/Film
- E.M. Forster's Howards End (1910)
- Category
- Play
- Age Guidance
- Mature Audiences (M)
- Number of Acts
- 3
- First Produced
- 2018
- Genres
- Drama
- Settings
- Contemporary, Multiple Settings
- Time & Place
- New York, 2015 - 2016
- Cast Size
- medium
- Licensor
- Dramatists Play Service
- Ideal For
- All-Male Cast, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Includes Mature Adult, Adult, Young Adult Characters, Medium Cast
Context
The Inheritance is based upon E.M. Forster’s 1910 novel Howards End. It was commissioned by Hartford Stage, Connecticut and first premiered at London’s Young Vic Theatre in March 2018. It then transferred to the Noel Coward Theatre in the West End in September 2018. Directed by Stephen Daldry, the play featured Kyle Soller as Eric Glass, John Benjamin Hickey as Henry Wilcox, and Vanessa Redgrave as Margaret. Soller won the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a play and the production won 4
to read the context for The Inheritance (Part One) and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Plot
Prologue
In a cozy room, a group of young men sit around writing. Young Man 1 sits apart from the rest. They are all trying to tell their stories but they have writer’s block. Into the midst of the group comes E.M. Forster (‘Morgan’). Young Man 1 asks for Morgan’s help to tell their story and they find a place to begin.
Act One
Toby Darling is at a showbiz party in the Hamptons, leaving a series of increasingly drunken voicemails for his partner, Eric Glass. He wants Eric to pack a
to read the plot for The Inheritance (Part One) and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Lead |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
|
|
Ensemble |
Male |
Non-singer |
Songs
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
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Videos
Quizzes
Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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Quote Analysis
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Guide Written By:
Alexandra Appleton
Writer, editor and theatre researcher