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The Arts Intel Report

We Had A World

Andrew Barth Feldman and Joanna Gleason in We Had a World.

Mar 19 – Apr 27, 2025
131 W 55th St, New York, NY 10019, USA

“It’s not abstract—it can really be ripped from the headlines of almost anybody’s life,” says Joanna Gleason, referring to Joshua Harmon’s new play, We Had a World. “At a time when we’re so isolated, and we’re so unsure, the thing you have to try to find in your life is a family.” After a 12-year absence, and starring alongside Andrew Barth Feldman (No Hard Feelings), Gleason returns to the stage to take on the role of a dying woman in her final days. She asks her grandson to write a play about their family, but with an unusual caveat: he must make it as bitter and cruel as possible. Her grandson obliges, and so unfolds a 30-year saga of family fights, ruthless behavior, and enduring love. Directed by Trip Cullman, Harmon’s play asks, What is a family? —Jeanne Malle

Photo courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club