The Inheritance (play)

The play was commissioned by Hartford Stage in Hartford, Connecticut.[1] The play was produced in London at the Young Vic Theatre under the direction of Stephen Daldry in March 2018. The play was staged in two parts of over three hours each, intended to be viewed sequentially. It examines love between gay men in contemporary New York a generation after the AIDS epidemic.[2] It asks what the current generation owes to its forebears.[3]

The production transferred to the Noel Coward Theatre in London's West End on 21 September 2018 and is produced by Tom Kirdahy, Sonia Friedman, and Hunter Arnold.[4]

The Inheritance won Best Play at the London Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2018.[5]

The Inheritance also won Best New Play, Best Director for Stephen Daldry and Best Actor for Kyle Soller at both the 2019 Critics' Circle Awards and the 2019 Laurence Olivier Awards, also winning an Olivier for Best Lighting for Jon Clark.[6]

The play premiered on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on 27 September 2019 in previews, with the official opening on 17 November.[7] The production features Lois Smith as Margaret, with Kyle Soller and John Benjamin Hickey, among others, reprising their roles from the London production.[8]

In December 2019, it was announced that Tony Goldwyn would replace Hickey for a four-month stint beginning in January 2020, while Hickey was set to direct a revival of Plaza Suite.[9] However, in February 2020, it was announced that The Inheritance would close on March 15, after 46 previews and 138 regular performances.[10][11] However, on March 12, the final four performances were cancelled when New York Governor Andrew Cuomo banned large gatherings to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.[12]