Review: Tony-winning ‘The Inheritance’ is better in Los Angeles than on Broadway
The Inheritance, the Tony-winning revival of Arthur Miller’s classic play, has been called “one of the great triumphs” of the Tony Awards, and by some it’s been called one of the greatest ever staged or staged. And while there is no doubt that in many ways The Inheritance is an exceptionally strong piece of work, critics have always found in it a number of problems.
Its first production (and Broadway transfer) was in 1976, and it’s been on Broadway in various forms for a combined 7 years. It was also mounted on Broadway and in regional theaters throughout the United States and Canada. And yet, even though it’s been around for so long, critics have always seemed to be able to find something to be dissatisfied with at least some of The Inheritance’s production. Which makes it the perfect fit for this week’s podcast on the Tony Awards.
The Inheritance, now playing at the Ambassador in Los Angeles, is the second Broadway revival to come to the Ambassador after The King and I, and one of four Broadway revivals staged here after The Fantasticks, In the Wings, and The Taming of the Shrew. The company performing it, the National Theatre Studio for the Performing Arts, which has been a Broadway institution since 1985, is headed now by Michael Feingold, the Tony-winning director of several of the more recent, and best, plays staged here by directors such as Tom Kitt and Lynn Nottage.
The Ambassador Theatre at the Beverly Hills Hotel has been an impressive building, its construction being overseen by I. M. Pei. It’s become one of the more luxurious hotels in Los Angeles and the theatre has become very popular with the celebrities who come to visit for the awards shows.
The production is being directed by Tony Award winner John