Kenneth Lonergan's comedy THIS IS OUR YOUTH is coming to Broadway for the first time, directed by Tony Award winner Anna D. Shapiro and starring Michael Cera, Kieran Culkin, and Tavi Gevinson. THIS IS OUR YOUTH follows three wayward young people as they navigate 1982 New York, recreating their broken homes in both their dysfunctional friendships and their bungled attempts at finding love. THIS IS OUR YOUTH is a living snapshot of the moment when young people first find themselves on the threshold of adulthood-far more sophisticated than their parents realize, and far less effectual than they themselves can possibly imagine.
THIS IS OUR YOUTH reminds us why The New York Times calls Kenneth Lonergan "arguably the most important American playwright of the last 20 years," and why Slate calls him "the most potent dramatic voice of his generation."
There are just three characters in 'This Is Our Youth' and three gifted, demographically hot-button actors onstage in this Broadway premiere of Kenneth Lonergan's 1996 slacker comedy. And yet, as the deceptively shaggy story unwinds in a single one-room crash pad, we don't just get to know these three privileged, directionless offspring of successful Upper West Side Jewish parents in 1982. Thanks to the playwright's meticulously hand-picked insights and Anna D. Shapiro's tight yet seemingly easygoing direction, we somehow feel we have spent a couple of amusing and ultimately painful hours with an entire world of offstage parents, drug dealers and friends of friends.
Unfortunately, what must have worked beautifully in the Steppenwolf's far more intimate environs doesn't fully register in the large house, making the play seem smaller than it really is. This is despite the expert direction by Shapiro, who's guided the performers, two of them playing their first stage roles, into vividly memorable turns. The 31-year-old Culkin...is undeniably too old for the role, but he perfectly captures Dennis' youthful braggadocio as well as his carefully hidden insecurities...Cera...Playing not too far from his familiar dorky screen persona, he makes an impressive stage debut, fully mining the pathos and humor of the fumbling Warren and easily scoring the evening's biggest laughs. The 18-year-old, waif-like Gevinson has no such problem in terms of age...But the awkwardness she displays onstage, whether intentional or not, works beautifully for the role of a young woman struggling with a transition into adulthood, and her off-kilter line readings are consistently engaging.
1996 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
1998 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
2014 | Broadway |
Broadway Premiere Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play | Kenneth Lonergan |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Sonia Friedman |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Steppenwolf Theatre Company |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | John Johnson |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Sue Wagner |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Joey Parnes |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Fred Adler |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Catherine Adler |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Jhett Tolentino |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Joan Raffe |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Daryl Roth |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Heni Koenigsberg |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | The Araca Group |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Tulchin Bartner |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Stephanie P. McClelland |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Scott M. Delman |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Ruth Hendel |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | The Shubert Organization |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Roy Furman |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Jon B. Platt |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | William Berlind |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Roger Berlind |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Eli Bush |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Scott Rudin |
2015 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | This is Our Youth |
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