A Tony Award-winning playwright from Scranton wrote a play about a fictional Scranton family that’s been shown around the world. Now, it’s coming to Scranton.
LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — Stephen Karam. He’s a Tony Award winner, a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, a playwright, a screenwriter, and he’s asked to speak at universities like King’s College in Luzerne County all the time.
But the title he and many in the area would say is more important is the title of Scrantonian. “I grew up in Scranton, North Washington Avenue, Greenridge, Dunmore border to be specific,” said Karam.
Since he left Scranton, Karam wrote a number of plays. One play, called “The Humans,” features a fictional family from the Electric City and has been enormously successful.
“This is a play that opened off-Broadway, made it to Broadway, it’s been translated in 13 languages, it’s been done in different countries,” said Karam.
This play about a Scranton family has been performed all across the world, but it’s never been performed in the place where its main characters are from, until now.
“It made its way to Japan before Scranton, so yeah, it feels like a lot of pressure, but we’re the people who are going to really bring it home, and that feels like a great honor,” said Emily Holmes, a Scranton Shakespeare Society actress.
The Scranton Shakespeare Society is bringing “The Humans” back to its roots, performing it at the Scranton Shakespeare festival, Thanksgiving weekend.
“To be a part of this cast, for this incredible play, for someone from the area, Tony-award winner, is just an awesome experience for my first time on the stage,” said MaryLynn Bartoletti, a Scranton Shakespeare Society actress.
A play about a Scrantonian family, coming back to its Scrantonian roots.
“To finally have this family that is from the Scranton area, the fictional family in the play, finally make it back to Scranton, Pennsylvania. It feels just kind of like a full circle moment for it to come home,” said Karam.
The play opens on Black Friday and runs through the weekend.