The Lyons at Lankershim Arts Center

The Lyons

Lankershim Arts Center
5108 Lankershim Blvd. North Hollywood

Family patriarch Ben Lyons is in the hospital, dying from cancer. As his time grows short, his wife and two adult children gather at his bedside for an atypical goodbye in this "smart and funny and moving" (New York Observer) drama that The Hollywood Reporter hailed as "black comedy perfection" during its 2012 run. Ben, freed from social conventions thanks to his condition, will say anything he wishes -- salty language included. Rita, his partner in a 40-year-long loveless marriage, finds her mind drifting toward thoughts of the future. The couple's alcoholic daughter and gay son have their own issues and agendas. Written by Nicky Silver (Beautiful Child), The Lyons is now presented at the Lankershim Arts Center North Hollywood in a new production by Road Theatre Company.

Thru - Jul 1, 2017

Price: $15-$34

Show Type: Comedy

Box Office: 818-752-7568

www.lankershimartscenter.com

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The Lyons Reviews

Average Rating based on 10 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

Los Angeles Times - Recommended

"...Still, this is a bracing piece of theater. Just think carefully about whether you want to see it with a loved one. Your laughs might give you away."

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- Daryl Miller

LA Splash - Highly Recommended

"...Talented playwright Nicky Silver nailed it. This has to be one of the funniest peaks at a dysfunctional family in a long time. And director Scott Alan Smith was undoubtedly on the same page. The riveting repartee is brilliantly timed to create a symphony of foibles that can only exist in that nucleus we call a family. The cast also digs right into the meat of the play, offering the audience a hilarious but also sobering view of a group of people engaged in a love/hate quartet."

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- Elaine L. Mura

Stage Scene LA - Highly Recommended

"...Ben, Rita, Lisa, and Curtis Lyons give the Lomans, the Tyrones, and the Giddenses a run for their dysfunctional family money, albeit with considerably more laughter-provoking results in Nicky Silver's The Lyons, the latest darkly comedic bit of brilliance from The Road Theatre Company, a Los Angeles Premiere incisively directed by Scott Alan Smith."

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- Steven Stanley

The Tolucan Times - Highly Recommended

"...Nicky Silver's The Lyons throws a hard left to the concept we have for the typical family and by doing so, points the cruel formalities of love and war at our own. Directed by Scott Alan Smith, this production starts out as a dark comedy then deftly switches to drama. It is sudden, but works in spectacular fashion."

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- M. Jarrett Christensen

NoHoArtsDistrict - Highly Recommended

"...I most highly recommend "The Lyons" at The Road on Lankershim. If you love L.A. theatre, then it really is a must see!!"

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- Samantha Simmonds-Ronceros

Showmag - Recommended

"...The Lyons may not be Silver's best play, nor would you care to spend time with any of these characters in real life. But a couple of hours in their company, safely protected by the Fourth Wall, is both diverting and unsettling."

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- Michael Van Duzer

Santa Monica Daily Press - Highly Recommended

"...The Lyons are a dysfunctional family trapped in disheartening circumstances, but with the superb writing of Nicky Silver and the expert acting of an exceptional cast, you will find yourself completely immersed in their story. And laughing in spite of yourself."

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- Cynthia Citron

Stage Raw - Highly Recommended

"...Act I delivers abundant laughs, but the tone radically changes in a somewhat clunky Act II, when Ben's meeting with a realtor (Kris Frost) on the day of his father's death turns violent, setting off a string of unlikely and surprising turns. The finale is a bit too saccharine to be effective, but notwithstanding the problems in the second act, this is an enjoyable play that boasts some fine acting under Scott Alan Smith's steady directorial hand. Sarah Brown provides a simple, well-designed set piece and Liz Herron rounds out the cast."

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- Lovell Estell III

Haines His Way - Recommended

"...The humor is very dark in The Lyons and director Scott Alan Smith and his cast delicately balance the laughs and the pathos. Scarpone is superlative as Rita, a truly hateful spouse and negligent parent, yet you still feel sympathy for her. Handy rants and raves in a supine position from his hospital bed and he manages to volley back Rita's barbs with his own spiked vitriol. Branco paints the perfect picture of the daughter no one seems to notice while Coe wears his homosexuality on his sleeve as a badge of defiance. But Curtis is also fearful of his homosexuality, creating make believe lovers for years at a time. Audiences will be glad they are not a member of this family. The Lyons may be fun to watch but you don't really want to associate with them."

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- Rob Stevens

Los Angeles Post-Examiner - Recommended

"...But in overall entertainment value The Lyons scores a legitimate 4 on a scale of one to five with five being perfection. On the one hand it is inescapably funny at first but it also looks deep into other elements of life that are not always so funny yet they are very real and reveal the still universal imperfection of mankind."

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- Ron Irwin