A Broadway hit that swept the Tony Awards is making its first-ever Alabama appearance this month, and it’s happening on a stage in downtown Birmingham. Theatre Downtown is staging the Alabama premiere of The Humans, Stephen Karam’s dark comedy about a family Thanksgiving dinner that spirals into revealed secrets, running Friday, November 6 through Sunday, November 22.
As reported by Bham Now, the production is directed by Dennis McLernon, a recently retired theater professor at UAB. The play, set inside a New York City apartment in 2008, follows the Blake family as long-held secrets surface over dinner. Karam’s script took home the Tony Award for Best Play in 2016 and has won four Tony Awards overall, and it carries a 91% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The story later became a 2021 film starring Richard Jenkins and Amy Schumer.
A Script That Hits Close to Home for the Cast
McLernon has said the play’s personal emotional struggles create an authentic experience for both the cast and the audience, according to the same Bham Now report. Actors sometimes call out “meta!” when they recognize something profoundly personal in the story. “When the play hits home with the actors, as often it does, we will occasionally hear a cry of ‘meta!’” McLernon said, per the outlet’s account. That exclamation, the report notes, has become something of a touchstone for the cast whenever the script brushes up against personally recognizable elements of their own lives.
Performances run Fridays through Sundays through November 22, with the Theatre Downtown cast taking the stage at 7:30 pm on Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 pm on Sundays. The theater is located on Fourth Avenue North in Birmingham.
Ticket Prices and Pay-What-You-Can Nights
Tickets run $30 for adults and $20 for students with a valid ID. Theatre Downtown is also offering two pay-what-you-can performances, on November 13 and November 15, both starting at 7:30 pm. The theater describes the pay-what-you-can format as a way for attendees to contribute whatever they can afford, according to Theatre Downtown’s own website, which also notes that tickets can be purchased online or at the door.
About Theatre Downtown
Theatre Downtown was founded in 2006 by Billy Ray Brewton and Cindy deSa, according to the theater’s website. Two decades later, the company is putting its name behind introducing Birmingham audiences to a modern Broadway staple, giving local theatergoers a chance to see an award-winning script without needing a trip to New York or a movie screen.
