The Humans

"It is still the most, well, human play I’ve ever seen about fear and disappointment and the attachments that transcend them...When a naturalistic play is working on so many levels (literally, in this case) an odd thing can happen: You can begin to feel that the characters are just going about their lives onstage but that you, in the audience, are acting. At any rate, you may find yourself gasping and yelping and, if you’re the type, crying." Full Review

"The title may sound generic, but there’s nothing blurry about Mr. Karam’s scorching drama. Drawn in subtle but indelible strokes, Mr. Karam’s play might almost qualify as deep-delving reportage, so clearly does it illuminate the current, tremor-ridden landscape of contemporary America...The finest new play of the Broadway season so far." Full Review

"This talented writer has an innate sense of dramatic tension and theatricality, he also has a rare understanding that you do not need to pop pills for tragedy to bang on your door...A truly remarkable and exceptionally moving play...Mantello, whose work is self-effacing, clearly understands the quality of this play — which represents a whole new level for Karam...Few writers of his generation have achieved anything quite like 'The Humans.'" Full Review

"The dark comedy opened Thursday at the Helen Hayes Theatre with a terrific cast and an unsentimental look at the way we live today — anxiety-ridden, having little control over our environment or bodies, forever stretched and always a step from the abyss. It is an absolute triumph." Full Review

"A production that has become even more timely in its expression of middle class anxieties, but remains most noteworthy for the exquisite performances by some of New York’s finest stage actors...For all the problems the characters face, the actors are superb in communicating an affection and good humor that feels genuine and that draws us in. They do justice to the work of playwright Stephen Karam." Full Review

"'The Humans' is just as funny, just as moving and just as sneakily unsettling in its new Broadway incarnation, and retains its essential intimacy...'The Humans' is the kind of show that we must usually go Off Broadway to see: a thoughtful new play by a young American writer, with a cast of expert local actors. With no slight intended to the lions and the witches and the extravagant wardrobes: It's good to see 'The Humans' on Broadway, too." Full Review

"Playwright Stephen Karam takes this familiar, if shop-worn, dramatic framework and transforms it into a 95-minute work that is fresh, funny, piercing and perceptive...Karam has an eye for detail on a near-cellular level, an ear for authentic dialogue and a superlative ability to balance laughter and sorrow. There’s a lot of both here...Joe Mantello’s direction is smart and subtle, making excellent use of the bi-level stage." Full Review

"A deeply engaging play...'The Humans' is a psychological thriller that manages to capture the human condition, its pain, its worries, its culpability, even its hopes in concrete images that often leave the audience spellbound. Joe Mantello’s direction is pure perfection as is David Zinn’s upstairs-downstairs, superego-ego set...The ensemble cast is brilliant – one member better than the next – and with superb craft give each of their characters a gritty authenticity." Full Review

"A smart decision was made to hold on to the exquisitely matched acting ensemble and also the play’s, well, human scale by re-mounting it in the Helen Hayes, the smallest Tony-eligible house. As a result, the play retains its remarkable power as a tale of sorrows veined with silver threads of humor...'The Humans' is tremendously exciting theater, and I remain convinced that you won’t see a better play this season." Full Review

"There is so much love, dread, tenderness and brutality in 'The Humans' that it is hard to believe just 90 minutes pass through Stephen Karam’s deeply-felt family tragicomedy thriller...The move to a larger showcase feels right, enlarging the impact without losing the nuances of light and dark...On second viewing, the retelling of bad dreams now seems woven into a richer psychological carpet and the few plot threads that seemed undeveloped now feel beautifully wrought." Full Review

"Karam’s exquisite family drama, so lovingly transferred to Broadway, is a flawless gem. Director Joe Mantello has deepened the play’s tragicomic elements, capturing the dynamics of a family you may not know but will surely recognize...The cast is superb…Karam’s play is a mirror reflecting our absurd humanity. We laugh and we cry amid the worst challenges. But through it all, there’s family - for better or worse - to cushion the blow." Full Review

"In a mere 95 minutes, the playwright — bolstered by a whip-smart director, Joe Mantello, and pitch-perfect cast of six — delves into the dynamics of this clan with a gentleness that feels like compassion and a scrupulousness that borders on the forensic…'The Humans' is the sort of impeccably constructed play that should be a regular inhabitant on Broadway, not the occasional, surprising guest." Full Review

“Stephen Karam's insightful, melancholy, it's funny-because-it's-true drama ‘The Humans’ is about the fears of one family…Joe Mantello, directing the outstanding original cast, balances everyday irritations and genuine eerieness delicately, so that it simultaneously feels mysteriously fable-like and grounded in reality…That's what's so beautiful and moving about ‘The Humans.’ This family doesn't just take each other apart — they put each other back together again.” Full Review

"Sensitively staged by Joe Mantello, 'The Humans' transpires in real-time, as one uninterrupted 95-minute act...Karam paints such a dynamic portrait of real life that I could only sit and absorb the insecurities and frailties batted around on stage. 'The Humans' is monumentally affecting, and something for which theatergoers should be oh-so-very thankful." Full Review

"This is a major play, no doubt about it...'The Humans' is a deeply humane and compassionate play, and, in spite of tackling difficult subjects, a sparklingly funny one...The cast is uniformly extraordinary, with my personal favorite being the always sparkling Houdyshell. Director Joe Mantello delineates ever turn of this intricate play, never missing a detail or a nuance. Highly recommended." Full Review

"Stephen Karam has written a play that stands for its time...The careful, relatable mundanity of the plot serves as a springboard for the profound conflicts of everyday existence...The formidable cast so brilliantly embody their roles that it's difficult to believe that they walk off stage and into their real lives...This play will move you, and it can -- and likely will be -- pondered and parsed for many years to come." Full Review

"Under Mantello's sensitive direction, the whole production has kept up an aura of lingering dread. In fact, the performances seem sharper in this Broadway transfer...Through brutal realism, Karam presents a family careering toward disaster with little in the way of an evasive action plan. For too many Americans, that situation alone will feel painfully uncanny — so much so that you won't be able to look away." Full Review

“It’s amazing what the playwright and director pull off here…It’s often startlingly funny, and keeps an emotional grip on its audience throughout. The ending even adds a whiff of quasisupernatural terror that somehow doesn’t feel out of place…Aside from the sharp, nuanced writing, credit must go to the ensemble...They’re like the show as a whole, moving stealthily and laying waste to your heart.“ Full Review

"Horror occurs in countless forms and at varying degrees, describing a sweeping range of experiences that define who we are. Perhaps the greatest marvel of the many in 'The Humans,' the outstanding new play at the Helen Hayes, is just how many of these playwright Stephen Karam and director Joe Mantello manage to pack into their fusion-charged 95-minute evening." Full Review

"Watching 'The Humans' is like being a fly on the wall...Karam paints the most realistic characters who relate to one another in a non-sensational, but wholly compelling way. It doesn’t hurt that director Joe Mantello has assembled one of the best casts currently represented on a Broadway stage. There exists a universal component here that is remarkable...When the curtain falls, you have no choice but to leave 'The Humans' with a life-altering worldview." Full Review

"Bouts of affection are expressed, but only along with culture clashes, putdowns, and revelations on the order of illness and infidelity. That’s pretty standard for a family drama, but the play laces that with crackling dialogue which has your sympathies shifting between the characters...A remarkable and feisty work that’s one of the year’s best." Full Review

"Thanks to Karam’s script and the ensemble’s performances, every slight, every shared memory, and every knowing glance feels utterly lived in. The brilliant direction by Joe Mantello helps hugely with believability as well…Karam’s transcendently mundane play is a reminder that family dinner dramas can still be surprising — and they doesn’t need ghosts or things that go bump in the night to achieve that. Real life is scary enough." Full Review

"Each and every character is enormously appealing, and Karam takes care to reveal their guarded secrets with great tenderness, just as Mantello’s directorial hand gently advances the play from comedy to tragedy. The revelations of weakness in this close-knit family are not entirely unexpected...The big question, of course, is whether the Blakes can survive after this emotional night. Karam doesn’t make it easy for them — or us." Full Review

“The comedy-drama is about the randomness of life, which can be terribly cruel, and the comfort received by belonging to a family…I appreciated the way the exemplary actors blended together with a special rapport. Under the masterful direction of Joe Mantello, they displayed the unmistakable rhythms of a family gathering:…‘The Humans’ doesn't suggest tomorrow will be a brighter day. What it does say is that, if we're part of a loving family, we won't have to face the bad stuff alone.” Full Review

"They feel as much like a real family with scars and tender spots and grudges and rages as any family I’ve ever met. I’d like to say it is the actors who bring the magic or that it’s all on the page or that the director’s deft sense of pacing does the job. But, hell, there’s lots of credit to go around. If you can get a ticket grab it. This is one of those terrific shows you will spend worthy hours with afterwards. You know, the kind of play that keeps on giving." Full Review