by Jody Tuso-Key

Atlanta—What comes to mind when you hear the word Thanksgiving? Is it gathering with family, Turkey dinner, The Macy’s Parade (complete with Broadway numbers at pre-opening), football, family traditions, and more? Do you look forward to the holiday or does it make you cringe? What about family gatherings? Do you anticipate the time spent together only to be disappointed as old feelings or new tensions arise? Family is complicated — Humans are complicated.

My family used to have a big family Thanksgiving at my sister’s house. Now that our kids are grown, we’ve changed our tradition and spend the first part of the week with my son and his fiance in Orlando where we’ve enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner and time at Sea World or Universal Studios. We travel home on Thanksgiving day (the holiday traffic is non-existent) where I savor a delicious Turkey Sandwich at Buc-ees. Finally, we make a turkey breast on Friday or Saturday with all the fixings and have a small feast at home. In theory, this sounds heavenly, and for the most part, it is, yet between the laughter and love, there’s also the occasional stress-filled argument or unintended hurt feelings.

This is the essence of HUMANS at Theatrical Outfit, playing until June 25th. It’s an affectionate, wonderfully complicated dysfunctional dramedy with a touch of the spooky that allows audiences to be flies on the wall of a typical American family at Thanksgiving. Written by Stephen Karam, HUMANS opened Off-Broadway in 2015 and premiered on Broadway in 2016. It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and won the Tony for Best Play. In 2021 it was adapted to the screen and received critical acclaim.

The story centers around the Blake Family. Eric, the patriarch of the family along with his wife Deidre, and his mother Fiona “Momo” (who has dementia) arrive from Scranton, Pennsylvania along with their youngest daughter, Aimee, a lawyer living in Philadelphia, to spend Thanksgiving with their oldest daughter, Brigid, and her boyfriend, Richard, who have recently moved into a cramped and run-down apartment in Chintown, New York. Throughout the production the family encounters loud banging on the walls an ceiling which result in random electrical failures. Eric is especially haunted by the noises and strange occurances as he was in New York on 9/11 and has some unresolved post-traumatic stress as a result. Eric is also keeping secrets from his daughters which are eventually revealed as the night progresses.

As always, Theatrical Outfit delivers a quality production. Their casting choices for this show were spot-on. The generation gap between parents and children was very well played and there was a character for which every audience member could identify.

Allan Edwards as Eric did a great job portraying a father with imperfections, fears, and love for his daughters. Eric is haunted by his recolletion of 9/11 and his recent infedelity which resulted in the loss of his job. I remember him from PITTMAN PAINTERS at TO, and it was good to see him grace that space again.

Lala Cochran plays Deidre, mother of Brigid and Aimee and wife to Allan. Deidre identifies herself by her strong Catholic faith, and has difficulty coming to terms with her daughters’ lack of embracing religion. She is ridiculed by the girls about her beliefs and chastised by Brigid for dominating the conversation. She seems to be visibly hurt, yet takes it all in stride and remains true to who she is in spite of her differences with her children, the strain of her marriage, and the burden of caring for her ailing mother-in-law. Lala’s performance is authentic and resonates with mothers in the audience.

Maggie Larson’s portrayal of Brigid along with Tamil Pariasamy’s portrayal of Richard present a believable couple who have been together for enough time to make the committment to live together. Deidre takes several digs at her daughter’s decision to live with Richard unmarried. It also seems this may be the first time the family has met Richard. Tamil played the newcomer to the family well in his Theatrical Outfit Debut. I most recently enjoyed his performance in SWINDLERS at Aurora. Maggie plays her character well as a young woman on the verge of giving up her aspirations as a musician as she can’t find work in the field.

Rhyn McLemore as Aimee is my favorite character in this piece. I enjoyed being introduced to Rhyn after seeing her in FUN HOME at Actor’s Express. Her performance is genuine and very skilled. Her character is a a lawyer—the most successful family member—yet she has experienced a painful break up, is on the verge of losing her job, and suffers from a serious intestinal illness.

Last but not least is Susan Shaloub Larkin as Momo, Eric’s mother, who suffers from dementia. Susan’s performance was a reverent look at what this devastating disease does to a person. Momo spends most of the play in a wheelchair or sleeping on the couch, occasionally repeating the same phrases. Her right hand constantly shakes. Her presence adds to the aura of stress and sadness the family feels, interspersed with brief moments of happiness and laughter.

There is one more character in this production, and that is the apartment itself, expertly designed by Isabel and Moriah Curley-Clay. We’ve seen their work all over the ATL, and they are known for their attention to detail, from the view of the brick wall through the apartment’s only murky window, to the detail behind the kitchen curtain, bathroom door, and narrow and drab hallway. This apartment is a rundown two story with a spiral staircase and by New York standards, is pretty spacious. However, Eric and Deidre, who are used to their house in Scranton, see it was small and drab. Having just moved in, the apartment is sparsely furnished. There is a recliner upstairs and a couch downstairs along with card tables pushed together to create a table large enough for the family to eat Thanksgiving dinner.

The apartment has other quirks brought to life by sound designer Sharath Patel and light designer Ben Rawson. Every resonant bump followed by a light flicker feels eerily real. Bravo to the crew that pulled this off! I’ve never experienced anything so authentic when it comes to set design.

Kudos to director Matt Torney and the rest of the team for putting together this difficult and intricate piece of art. This show is Speakeysie recommended as it will make you feel deeply and cause you to explore your soul, your relationship with your family, and your own demons.

Get your tickets at https://www.theatricaloutfit.org/the-humans/ before they sell out.