The humans

Stephen Karam

Book - 2016

"A kind, warm, beautifully observed and deeply moving new play, a celebration of working-class familial imperfection and affection and a game-changing work for this gifted young playwright."--Chicago Tribune. "Portentous and penetrating. Stephen Karam's family drama is a slow-burning study of psychological unease."--Variety. This year for Thanksgiving, the Blake family gathers in a new Chinatown apartment shared by daughter Brigid and her boyfriend: a typical housing space for New York, cramped with people and all the compassion, cares, and consternation they bring with them. This "delirious tragicomedy" (Chicago Sun-Times) by talented young playwright Stephen Karam encapsulates what we all dread most abou...t the holidays and the pressure to present our best selves to the people who mean the most to us. The intricate dialogue and delicate interactions weave a beautifully despondent family portrait, revealing the true depth of each individual's anxiety - a nature that is, desperately and accurately, human. Stephen Karam is the author of Sons of the Prophet, a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize and the recipient of the 2012 Drama Critics Circle, Outer Critics Circle, Lucille Lortel and Hull-Warriner Awards for Best Play. His other plays include Speech & Debate, the inaugural production of Roundabout Underground, and columbinus (New York Theatre Workshop). He wrote the libretto for Dark Sisters, an original chamber opera with composer Nico Muhly (co-produced by Gotham Chamber Opera, MTG and Opera Company of Philadelphia)"-- more