''Sons of the Prophet'' is a play by

Stephen Karam Stephen Karam (born ) is an American playwright, screenwriter and director. His plays ''Sons of the Prophet'', a comedy-drama about a Lebanese-American family, and '' The Humans'' were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2012 and 2016, ...

. It is a comedy-drama about a Lebanese-American family and was a finalist for the 2012

Pulitzer Prize for Drama The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...

Productions

''Sons of the Prophet'' premiered in a production by

Huntington Theatre Company The Huntington Theatre Company is a professional theatre located in Boston, Massachusetts and the recipient of the 2013 Regional Theatre Tony Award, under the direction of Managing Director Michael Maso. It is notable for its longstanding artist ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in April and May 2011.Jones, Kenneth
"'Sons of the Prophet', Dark Comedy About Pain, Loss and Legacy, Ends Off-Broadway Run; Is Broadway Next?"
playbill.com, January 1, 2012 ''Sons of the Prophet'' opened

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

at the

Laura Pels Theatre The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. History The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fried and Elizab ...

on October 20, 2011 (after previews from September 28) and closed on January 1, 2012. This play was commissioned by the

Roundabout Theatre Company The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. History The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fried and Elizabet ...

.''Sons of the Prophet'' Listing"
roundabouttheatre.org, accessed May 14, 2012 The play was directed by Peter DuBois and starred Charles Socarides (Timothy), Yusef Bulos (Bill), Lizbeth MacKay (Mrs. McAndrew), Dee Nelson (Dr. Manor), Jonathan Louis Dent (Vin),

Santino Fontana Santino Fontana (born March 21, 1982) is an American actor and singer. He has received a Tony Award, two Drama Desk Awards, an Outer Critics Circle Award, Lortel Award, Obie Award, and Clarence Derwent Award in a mix of straight plays and musica ...

(Joseph),

Chris Perfetti Chris Perfetti (born December 12, 1988) is an American actor. He currently portrays Jacob Hill on the ABC comedy ''Abbott Elementary'', for which he was nominated for a Critics' Choice Award. His other roles include Tim Fletch on the NBC series ...

(Charles) and

Joanna Gleason Joanna Gleason (née Hall; born June 2, 1950) is a Canadian actress and singer. She is a Tony Award–winning musical theatre actress and has also had a number of notable film and TV roles. She's known for originating the role of the Baker's Wife ...

(Gloria). The play was a finalist for the 2012

. and won the

Lucille Lortel Award The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatre ...

for Outstanding Play, the

New York Drama Critics' Circle The New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 22 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization is best known for its annual awards for excellence in theater.Jone ...

Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Play, 2011-12.Jones, Kenneth
"Andrew Garfield, John Guare, Lin-Manuel Miranda Present NY Drama Critics' Circle Awards May 14"
playbill.com, May 14, 2012

Plot

Brothers Joseph Douaihy (29 years old) and Charles Douaihy (18 years old), who live in a run-down area of

Nazareth, Pennsylvania Nazareth is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. The borough's population was 6,053 at the 2020 census. Nazareth is part of the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area, which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th most populous metropoli ...

, are left alone after their father dies of a heart attack two weeks after a car accident. That accident was caused by a prank by the local football star, Vin, who is sent to a juvenile detention center as punishment. Their family has emigrated from Lebanon and is distantly related to

Kahlil Gibran Gibran Khalil Gibran ( ar, جُبْرَان خَلِيل جُبْرَان, , , or , ; January 6, 1883 – April 10, 1931), usually referred to in English as Kahlil Gibran (pronounced ), was a Lebanese-American writer, poet and visual artist ...

. The brothers are forced to not only take care of themselves but care for their aging uncle, Bill. Joseph, who has mysterious pains, goes to work for Gloria, a book-packager, to get health insurance. Gloria tries to convince Joseph to write a book about his family, thinking this will return her to success in the publishing world. Joseph, who is gay, starts a romance with a reporter. The play uses the device of projections with "a title inspired by the chapter headings in Gibran’s ''The Prophet''."

Critical response

The ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' reviewer (in reviewing the Huntington production) wrote that the play was "wonderfully acted and sensitively helmed production .... Karam demonstrates an original comic voice for young characters, but here he expands generationally." The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' reviewer (of the Off-Broadway production ) wrote that the play is "...absolutely wonderful new comedy-drama ... Written with insight and compassion, not to mention biting wit, it shines a clarifying light into some of life’s darker passages, exploring how people endure the unendurable, and not only survive but also move forward through their blighted lives with sustaining measures of hope, love and good humor. The question of why we suffer is unanswerable, but how we suffer defines our character and shapes our lives more than we care to acknowledge."Isherwood, Charles.
"Theater Review. Blighted Existences, Eased With Hope and Humor"
''The New York Times'', October 20, 2011

References

External links

* * {{Stephen Karam Off-Broadway plays 2011 plays Plays by Stephen Karam LGBT-related plays Plays set in Pennsylvania