Tesseract’s "The Inheritance" is a riveting two-part tale of legacy, love and resilience

Time is a precious commodity, so recommending a two-part, six-hour play is not something I take lightly. Why, you might ask, should you spend the better part of a day and some of your valuable entertainment dollars on the Tesseract Theatre Company’s production of Matthew Lopez’s “The Inheritance,” in two parts from April 26-May 5? Because, I can assure you, it’s worth it – and this recommendation after I’ve only seen Part I.

I’m eager to see Part II of this play, and have full confidence that the second half will be at least as good as the first. It’s rare to witness and experience a play that exudes such care, love and empathy. That’s thanks in no small part to Stephen Peirick’s heartfelt direction of the intricate, novelistic narratives of “The Inheritance.” The result is a theatrical experience that challenges the audience to confront profound and complex themes.

In “The Inheritance” Lopez skillfully intertwines the narratives of young gay men in contemporary New York City with the legacy of the AIDS crisis. The play is a poignant, pithy and piquant exploration of love, loss and the enduring power of storytelling with parallels (overt and covert in equal measures) to E.M Forster’s 1910 novel, “Howard’s End.” Forster’s novel is a central inspiration that enriches without seeming derivative.

Lopez's writing is witty, intimate and epic, delving deep into the hearts and minds of his characters as they navigate the complexities of identity, friendship and the search for meaning in a world haunted by the ghosts of the past. It’s a cousin to another epic and epically long play, “Angels In America.” In “Angels,” AIDS is a diaphanous specter. In “The Inheritance,” it is grim reaper with whom the characters must live with – and around – thanks to safer sex practices and medications like PrEP.

One indicator of the success of Tesseract’s production is the way Peirick’s direction moves the action along. Part I’s three-plus hours with two intermissions is has a spritely and spirited pace that maintain a consistently captivating and immersive narrative flow. That’s quite a feat on a minimalist stage like that at The Marcelle. Such spaces require the director and actors to create a palpable experience without relying on much stagecraft – which is its own sort of stagecraft. Peirick’s direction delivers on that challenge and honors the play’s progenitor production, first staged in London, where it won the Olivier Award for best new play.

Peirick also adroitly presents the play’s wide emotional spectrum and abrupt tonal shifts from levity to intense introspection. It takes a moment or two to become accustomed to the play’s innovative and ambitious storytelling, but under Peirick’s confident direction, the transitions and tonal shifts are smooth, even and balanced.

There’s a lot of “we” in “The Inheritance,” which takes its title from the line, “This is our inheritance: the right to live, to love, and to be loved in return.” This “we” approach is bolstered by the engaging ensemble cast. Among them:

Eric Glass, played by Chris Kernan, is a serious, self-doubting and nurturing social activist profoundly affected by the AIDS crisis. Kernan’s performance as the middle-class, Jewish Eric stands out as a poignant anchoring presence.

His boyfriend, Toby Darling, is a self-destructive playwright struggling with his past and his relationships. As played by played by Gabriel Paul, Toby is vivid, electric, charismatically manipulative and ultimately doomed (aren’t they always?)

Eric makes friends with Walter Poole, the older, frail man upstairs. Alex C. Moore delivers a heartfelt portrayal of Walter, capturing his grace, generosity and courage, as well as embodying his caring nature during the AIDS crisis and his acceptance of his own mortality. Moor does double duty as the English don-like character Morgan – as in Edward Morgan Forster.

Walter’s partner is the wealthy, conservative businessperson Henry Wilcox (another Easter egg nod to “Howard’s End”). Jonathon Hey delivers an appropriately outsized, big-man performance that is believable, empathetic and unexpectedly heroic.

Eric and Toby befriend a young gay actor named Adam, played by Tyson Cole, who also portrays Leo, a hustler who hooks up with Toby. Cole delivers one of Part I’s most rapturous, haunted scenes with a monologue about a long, graphic and transcendent visit to a gay bathhouse in Prague.

This is a suitable time to caution that “The Inheritance” for mature audiences and contains mature themes, langue, nudity, sexuality, violence satire and/or progressive ideas.

The main characters are supported by an ensemble of seven actors, each portraying various roles as friends, family members and narrators who propel the narrative forward. These are important to maintaining the play’s momentum, even though they are less fully realized and serve primarily as narrative devices to advance the plot. The ensemble seems to have taken to heart Konstantin Stanislavski remark that “there are no small parts, only small actors.”

As presented in The Marcelle’s black box, there’s not much need for scenic design (also provided by Pierick), but what’s there is efficient and just-so. It could have been pared down a bit more. A cherry tree (with pig’s teeth!) is referenced but not seen in the story. Off stage is a sad-looking cluster of miniature lights and white blossoms. Lopez’s dialogue captures the essence of the blossoms and the actors convey their importance so well that the actual blossoms are unnecessarily distracting.

Unless Lopez’s play or Tesseract’s performance somehow fail monumentally, Part II will be a continuation of this thematically rich, emotionally resonate exploration of intergenerational relationships and the legacy of the AIDS. One that richly deserves your investment of time and attention.

Performances of “The Inheritance” from Tesseract Theatre Company continue at The Marcelle theater until May 5. For more information, visit Tesseract Theatre Company web site.