By Daniela del Rosal
Mask and Bauble, Georgetown University’s student-run theater group, has previously showcased their talent through plays and musicals that depict unknown worlds or eras. In The Humans, written by Stephen Karam, the troupe showed their skills in a different way: they beautifully captured a world familiar to all of us in one way or another — that of family tensions and traditions, of love and grief, interwoven in an incredibly real and heartfelt way.
The Humans was directed by Daisy Fynewever and produced by Elle Marinello, with the support of Ariane Barth as stage manager and Toby Shu as technical director. The play is about the Blake family’s Thanksgiving dinner, hosted by Brigid Blake (played by Addison Golden), who just moved into a New York apartment with her boyfriend Richard (Archie Rivero). It begins with the predictable interactions between a typical American family. Brigid’s mother, Deirdre (Celeste Viana), complains about her daughter not being married. Her father, Erik (Sam Levinger), seeks cell service to check the football score. Brigid and her sister Aimee (Julia Toloszko) share their concerns over their parents’ health and their grandmother Momo’s (Lainey Lyle) severe dementia. Richard acts as a witness and attempts to leave a good first impression on his girlfriend’s family. As the night goes on, the audience is faced with a stark contrast between familial tenderness and conflict — from toasting with a song and professing gratitude to dealing with issues about health, money, and romance. Both the characters and the audience are forced to deal with what it means to be a family. To what point is one willing to accept the flaws of their loved ones? How do you show care when you fundamentally disagree with somebody else’s actions? Mask and Bauble did an outstanding job at grappling with these difficult questions.
As soon as the play began, I forgot I was watching college students. The makeup and costume teams masterfully transformed Lyle into an elderly woman and Viana and Levinger into middle-aged parents. Under Fynewever’s direction, the actors fully embodied their characters. Levinger and Rivero perfectly captured the father/son-in-law relationship with Rivero’s attempt to find common ground and Levinger playing. Viana’s mannerisms and tone of voice perfectly captured those of a mother who feels like she is losing her sway over her daughters. Toloszko and Golden had very good chemistry as sisters — their subtle looks at each other when Deirdre made an awkward comment and their laughter as they shared inside jokes were very realistic. Lyle’s performance was particularly striking. Despite being a college junior, her portrayal of Momo’s dementia felt extremely real. I could feel her wariness and confusion throughout the play, and her breakdown was especially chilling.
The technical aspects of this play were a central part of its immersiveness. The intimate set placed the audience just a few feet away from the actors. It created the effect that we were in the room with them, experiencing this family dinner. The mismatched furniture, unopened boxes, scattered grocery bags, and bare brick walls gave the effect of an apartment just moved into. The dual-level stage was well-designed so that neither floor of the house drew attention away from the other, and the actors did a good job of making the distinction between each floor clear. The sound effects of the upstairs neighbor were at just the right volume and placement to feel realistic and not be distracting. The lighting changes played a key role in the play’s plot and symbolism, with different lights suddenly going out as the tensions grew. However, the subtler effects did not go unnoticed, such as the blue lights outside the apartment perfectly emulating the night sky.
Mask and Bauble’s production of The Humans was emotional and real. It captured the dynamics of family drama and all of the sentiments that come with it. While the show’s run is already over, I am very excited to see what this talented group of students does next. In February of 2026, they will have their 40th annual Donn B. Murphy One-Acts Festival (DBMOAF), and in April, they will put on the musical Spring Awakening. After watching this production, I highly recommend attending one of Mask and Bauble’s upcoming shows.
The Humans played October 29 to November 8, 2025, presented by Mask and Bauble Dramatic Society, performing at Georgetown University in Poulton Hall, Stage III, 1421 37th Street NW, Washington, DC.
Lighting Design: Isabella Hill; Lighting Mentor: Lily Marino; Sound Design: Luc Kondrat; Sound Mentor: Cliff Stern; Props Designer: Grady McDonough; Set Dresser: Kiah Marson; Set Designer: Charlotte Hibbert; Scenic Artist: Ava Zedelmayer; Costume Designer: Margie Conner; Hair and Makeup Designer: Marin Napolitano.
Dani del Rosal is a junior at Georgetown University studying Science, Technology, and International Affairs. This is her first time writing a review, but she has always loved watching and performing in plays.
