PPT’s ‘The Humans’ serves up a haunting Thanksgiving
When “The Humans” begins a national tour Nov. 17 in Seattle, the 2016 Tony Award-winning best play will open here the same day, courtesy of Pittsburgh Public Theater.
The local company is among the regional theaters that couldn’t wait to put its own stamp on the family drama that Jesse Green described as “rackingly funny even as it pummels the heart and scares the bejesus out of you,” in Vulture, and Chris Jones called “truly remarkable and exceptionally moving” in the Chicago Tribune.
The enigmatic title does not tell the whole story, but it’s a clue. “The Humans” presents an Every Family for modern times, with all the humor and hardships that implies.
“The Humans” opens the door to a Thanksgiving meal with the Blakes of Scranton, Pa. Erik and Deirdre have come to the twofloor Chinatown apartment of their younger daughter, Brigid, and her boyfriend Richard. In tow are Brigid’s sister, Aimee, and Erik’s mother, “Momo,” who has dementia.
“It’s such a great play to bridge the Midwest and New York,” said Valeri Mudek, who plays Brigid for the Public. “That’s something I really connected to. I’m a New Yorker now — 10 years in New York. But being from Minnesota, when I go back home, I feel that cultural and lifestyle difference. This play can speak to so many people, and I think that’s why so many people across the country want to do it.”
Ms. Mudek, best known for her work at her hometown Guthrie Theater, is making her Pittsburgh debut, along with her onstage father, J. Tucker Smith.
You may recognize him from a ton of TV guest-starring roles, most recently in Netflix’s “Daredevil” and “The Following” on Fox. Mr. Smith met the Public’s Ted Pappas when the actor auditioned to play the father in “Equus” and was “crushed” when he didn’t get it.
“I liked [Mr. Pappas] so much, his energy … and a month or so later, the same casting director calls with this. Well, it’s not Ted directing, but it’s Pittsburgh Public and I love the play, so that’s how I was introduced — first by disappointment, and now I know it was meant to be.”
Thanksgiving meals as a theme for the stage and screen are nothing new, and playwright Stephen Karam certainly plays with the familiar, including a traditional meal of turkey with all the trimmings.
There are signs, though, that something is amiss. The