Round House Theatre set for The Inheritance
Round House Theatre opens its 2025/26 season with the regional premiere of The Inheritance, Parts One and Two, a groundbreaking work by Tony Award-winning playwright Matthew López. Directed by acclaimed DC-area actor and director Tom Story, this epic two-part production, inspired by E.M. Forster's Howards End, will run from August 27-October 19 and will be presented in two parts as intended by the playwright. Round House will offer limited performances where audiences can experience both parts in a single day.
The Inheritance, which premiered in London in 2018, reimagines E.M. Forster's classic novel through a contemporary lens, tracing the lives of three generations of gay men in New York City in 2015 as they grapple with themes of love and legacy, and the enduring shadow of the AIDS crisis amid a turbulent and changing America. Both deeply moving and sharply funny, the play poses powerful questions: What do we owe those who came before us, and what will we leave behind?
"The Inheritance is one of the most ambitious, emotionally resonant, and awarded plays of its generation. It's a story that honors the past while urgently speaking to this very moment," says director Tom Story. "I am proud to direct this stunning work with this incredible cast at Round House. I invite audiences to join us for this sprawling, hilarious, and heartbreaking play. I am honored to be able to create a space where audiences can laugh and grieve together as we reflect on the legacies we inherit, the ones we choose to leave behind, and what it means to be a gay man."
The cast includes 13 actors, many are well known to DC audiences and some making their Round House debuts; Jonathan Atkinson, Jordi Bertran Ramirez, Ben Bogen, John Floyd, Robert Gant, David Gow, Jamar Jones, Adam Poss, Hunter Ringsmith, Nancy Robinette, Robert Sella, Cole Sitilides, and Dylan Toms. Understudies for this production are Eric Hissom, Elizabeth Pierotti, Drew Sharpe, Theodore Sherron III, and Anthony De Souza.
The cast is joined by a brilliant creative team, which includes Scenic Designer Lee Savage, Costume Designer Frank Labovitz, Lighting Designer Colin K. Bills, Sound Designer Daniela Hart / Uptown Works, Projection Designer Kelly Colburn, Fight Director Casey Kaleba, Movement & Intimacy Choreographer Britta Peterson, Dramaturg Otis Ramsey-Zoe, Composer Paul Englishby, Casting Director Sarah Cooney, Associate Director Ashley Mapley-Brittle, and Production Stage Manager Che Wernsman.