by Dan Mayer
The medium of live theater is often at its best when it allows us to step away from the familiar, or to witness different perspectives that shed new light on familiar experiences. But there are many ways to tell a compelling story, and there are no rules stating that theater must always be theatrical. Stephen Karam’s The Humans focuses entirely on the mundane and the familiar, depicting an ordinary family dinner for the better part of two hours. That kind of realism can be a hard sell for a modern audience, and yet Home Made Theater‘s production absolutely captivates.
Director Erin Nicole Harrington clearly had a vision, to make the audience forget they are watching actors on a stage. Standard conventions of stage acting are artfully ignored, to great effect in most cases. The blocking sometimes leaves certain actors facing away from the audience for long periods of time. Everyone speaks in a fairly soft conversational tone. They usually talk over the ends of each others’ sentences, and mainly only raise their voices when shouting up or down the stairs of the apartment. If not for the small theater space having excellent acoustics, it would have been very difficult to follow at times. The dialogue gets a bit slower and louder as the dinner wears on (and the alcohol flows), but by that point the crowd are eagerly leaning in for every word.
The set designed by Bridget Jansen excellently recreates an older apartment in the city, making very effective use of the space to represent multiple rooms across separate floors. Sound designer Anne-Marie Baker brings all of the ambient noise that naturally comes with living in a major city with paper-thin walls and floors. Baker works hand-in-hand with lighting designer Jacob Pickett to make the space feel real, with the flickering overhead lights suggesting some very old electrical wiring in the walls. The light and sound cues also add to a growing sense of dread as the night unfolds.
Karam’s script is very effective, full of relatable awkwardness and slightly forced dinner conversation, and he constantly drops subtle hints of the deeper themes of the story. There are funny moments throughout, but most of the dialogue is slowly building anxious tension. It’s the kind of deeply personal dread many of us have felt at similar gatherings with relatives we sometimes struggle to get along with. The feeling is accentuated further as the topics of illness, money, and religion creep into conversation, and as the family’s various personal demons are gradually revealed, the whole show begins to feel downright voyeuristic. Most of the cast will pull at the heartstrings at various times, but Mary Ellen Dowling’s performance as Momo, the Blake family matriarch suffering from Alzheimer’s, is perhaps the most devastatingly effective, to the point of being difficult to watch towards the climax.
As we reach the ending and characters start to part ways, the mundane horror starts giving way a bit to the more surreal. There’s a special kind of subdued terror that comes with being both all alone in the dark and entirely too drunk, and David Skeele (Erik Blake) portrays it excellently. Nevertheless, as dark as the apartment becomes by the end, both literally and figuratively, there is some precious light to be found.
The Humans doesn’t contain any particularly objectionable or mature content, but it still seems like a show that needs some sort of content warning. The authenticity on display is its greatest strength, but it’s also what makes it challenging. At times it feels less like watching a show and more like sitting in front of a cage at a zoo that just happens to contain six people. If that kind of experience intrigues you, or if you’re interested in a kitchen-sink drama that explores the horror inherent in just being a person, it’s worth seeing for yourself.
Home Made Theater presents The Humans by Stephen Karam, directed by Erin Nicole Harrington, runs from April 19th-28th 2024, at Dee Sarno Theater (Saratoga Arts), 320 Broadway in Saratoga Springs, NY.
Cast: Mary Ellen Dowling, Antoinette Fasino, David Skeele, Jocelyn Khoury, Jessie House, and Daniel Perez. Stage Manager: Caitlin Wickes. Costume Designer: Dianne O’Neill. Scenic Designer: Bridget Jansen. Prop Designer: Elizabeth Parizh. Lighting Designer: Jacob Pickett. Sound Designer: Anne-Marie Baker.
Performance dates are April 19-21 and 25-28. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday curtains are at 7:30 pm, and Sundays are matinees at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $30. Runs approximately 90 minutes without intermission. Visit https://homemadetheater.org/box-office/ or call 518-587-4427 for more information.
