''The Lyons'' is a play by

Nicky Silver Nicky Silver is an American playwright. Formerly of Philadelphia, he resides in London. Many of his plays have been produced off-Broadway, and also at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. Biography Early life Silver was born in ...

. The play first ran Off-Broadway in 2011 and then premiered on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in 2012. This marks the Broadway debut of a Nicky Silver play.Jones, Kenneth
" 'The Lyons', Led By Linda Lavin and Dick Latessa, Opens on Broadway"
playbill.com, April 23, 2012 The setting is mainly in a hospital where Ben, the husband and father, is dying from cancer.

Productions

''The Lyons'' opened at the

Vineyard Theatre The Vineyard Theatre is an Off-Broadway non-profit theatre company, located at 108 East 15th Street in Manhattan, New York City, near Union Square. Its first production was in 1981. It is best known for its productions of the Tony award-winning ...

on September 22, 2011 (in previews) and closed on November 20, 2011. Directed by

Mark Brokaw Mark Brokaw is an American theatre director. He won the Drama Desk Award, Obie Award and Lucille Lortel Award as Outstanding Director of a Play for '' How I Learned to Drive''. Life and career Brokaw was raised in Aledo, Illinois, and graduated f ...

, the cast featured

Linda Lavin Linda Lavin (born October 15, 1937) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing the title character in the sitcom ''Alice'' and for her stage performances, both on and off-Broadway. After acting as a child, Lavin joined the C ...

(Rita Lyons),

Dick Latessa Richard Robert Latessa (September 15, 1929 – December 19, 2016) was an American stage, film, and television actor. Early life Latessa was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1929. After serving in the Army in maybe 1952, he began performing in Clevelan ...

(Ben Lyons),

Michael Esper Michael James Esper (born December 1, 1975) is an American actor, best known for his stage work. Early life Esper was born in Manhattan and raised in Montclair, New Jersey. He is the son of acting teachers William and Suzanne Esper, of the W ...

(Curtis Lyons),

Kate Jennings Grant Kate Jennings Grant (born March 23, 1970) is an American actress. She has appeared in a number of Broadway productions during her career, including '' Proof'', '' An American Daughter'', and ''Guys and Dolls''. She also has appeared in films such ...

(Lisa Lyons), Gregory Wooddell (Brian) and Brenda Pressley (A Nurse). Scenic design was by

Allen Moyer Allen Moyer (born 1958) is an American set designer particularly known for his work in operas and Broadway musicals. Moyer grew up in Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania. After two years at Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania, he transferred ...

, lighting by David Lander, costumes by Michael Krass and the original music and sound design by David Van Tieghem.Brantley, Ben
"Theater Review.The Curse of Kinship, but a Fear of Isolation"
''The New York Times'', October 11, 2011 ''The Lyons'' premiered on Broadway at the

Cort Theatre The James Earl Jones Theatre, originally the Cort Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 138 West 48th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. It was built in ...

on April 23, 2012, after previews from April 5. The Off-Broadway cast and creative team continued. The play closed on July 1, 2012 after 80 performances and 21 previews. The play opened in London at the

Menier Chocolate Factory The Menier Chocolate Factory is a 180-seat off-West End theatre, which comprises a restaurant, bar and rehearsal rooms. It is located in a former 1870s Menier Chocolate Company factory at 53 Southwark Street, a major street in the London Boro ...

on September 19, 2013 running to November 16, 2013. Mark Brokaw directed with a cast that featured Tom Ellis as Curtis. Other actors included Charlotte Randle (Lisa), Katy Secombe and Ben Aldridge.

Plot

Ben Lyons is in a hospital where he is dying from cancer. His family gathers around him. They are his wife, Rita, and grown children, Curtis Lyons and Lisa Lyons. Also present is his nurse. Ben is no longer constrained by manners and says whatever he wishes, including expletives. Rita, trapped in a 40-year loveless marriage, now thinks of the future without Ben and plans to re-decorate. Lisa is an alcoholic, who has left an abusive marriage; Curtis, homosexual, has had little to do with his father, who is homophobic. In a getaway from the hospital, Curtis looks at an apartment with the help of an actor moonlighting as a real estate agent.

Reception

In its review of the Off-Broadway production, the ''Variety'' reviewer wrote: "The basic joke of Silver's savage comedy is that the characters are given license to speak their private thoughts out loud ... As amazing as Lavin is at playing Rita's ferocious lust for life, she's surprisingly touching when Rita speaks with quiet dread of the lonely life she sees ahead of her. As monsters go, she's rather endearing ... the two Lyons offspring, who fuss and fight but remain one-note characters."

Michael Feingold Michael E. Feingold (May 5, 1945 – November 21, 2022) was an American critic, translator, lyricist, playwright and dramaturg. He was the lead theater critic of ''The Village Voice'' from 1982 to 2013, for which he was twice named a Pulitzer Pri ...

, reviewing the Off-Broadway production for ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'', noted "The Lyons family seems to be the standard-issue dysfunctional middle-class Jewish-suburban family of several thousand previous Broadway and Off-Broadway dramas with comic relief, or comedies with poignant relief ... But this is the Nicky Silver edition of such a play; the expected things happen here, but happen quite differently ... Lavin's performance might be what holds these contradictory elements in perfect balance. Blessed with the magic power to make every moment onstage embody truth, she's a purveyor of gigantic nuances, comic or tragic as needed: Her tiniest gestures seem epic; her minutest shifts of vocal tone ring out grandly." In reviewing the Broadway production, ''theatermania.com'' called the play "deliciously dark and hilarious." The reviewer goes on to write "Silver's ability to find both the humor and pain in this ghoulish scenario proves to be a hallmark of the piece, which can also find the funny in alcoholism and spousal abuse."

Awards and nominations

The play received nominations for the

Drama League Award The Drama League Awards, created in 1922, honor distinguished productions and performances both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, in addition to recognizing exemplary career achievements in theatre, musical theatre, and directing. Each May, the awards ...

for Distinguished Production Of A Play and Distinguished Performance Award, Linda Lavin. The play received nominations for the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Broadway Play; Mark Brokaw (Outstanding Director of a Play); and Linda Lavin (Outstanding Actress in a Play). Nominations for the Drama Desk Award include: Outstanding Play and Outstanding Actress in a Play, Linda Lavin. Linda Lavin received a nomination for the 2012

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play.Gans, Andrew; Jones, Kenneth and Hetrick, Adam
2012 Tony Awards Nominations Announced; Once Earns 11 Nominations"
Playbill.com, May 1, 2012

References

External links