"We Had a World" - by Joshua Harmon - Huntington Theatre Company (Boston, MA.) - REVIEW
(Cover Photo: Will Conard as “Joshua” in a scene from Joshua Harmon's "WE HAD A WORLD" presented by Huntington Theatre Company at the BCA/Calderwood, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, MA. through March 15, 2026. Photo Credit: Annielly Camargo)
By Kevin T. Baldwin
METRMAG Reviewer
# 774-242-6724
"I want you to promise me something…Make it as bitter and vitriolic as possible.”
- ("Ellen") / Joshua Harmon
Huntington Theatre Company
Presents Joshua Harmon's
"WE HAD A WORLD"
Written by Joshua Harmon
Directed by Keira Fromm
Cast Includes: Amy Resnick as “Renee,” Eva Kaminsky as “Ellen,” Will Conard as “Joshua.”
Understudies: Jack Greenberg, Joanna Strapp, Debra Wise.
Additional Creative Team:
Scenic Design - Courtney O’Neill; Costume Design - Izumi Inaba; Lighting Design - Tyler Micoleau; Sound Design and Original Music - Melanie Chen Cole; Wig, Hair and Makeup design - Rachel Padula; Voice and Dialect Coach - Lee Nishri; Production Stage Manager - Emily F. McMullen; Stage Manager - Ashley Pitchford; NY Casting - Janet Foster.
Performances:
February 12, 2026 through March 15, 2026
(Contact Box Office for Exact Times)
BCA/Calderwood, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, MA. 02116
TICKETS:
Available online at huntingtontheatre.org, by phone at 617-266-0800 or in person at THE HUNTINGTON THEATRE, 264 Huntington Avenue, Boston.
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COVID 19 PROTOCOLS
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(Warning: The following review contains spoilers)
Huntington Theatre Company has a hit with "WE HAD A WORLD" now playing at the BCA in Boston.
Under the direction of Keira Fromm, we watch as the three Huntington actors in "WE HAD A WORLD" skillfully steer the story that maneuvers back and forth between glee and grit, sometimes within the blink of an eye.
The autobiographical memory play was written by Joshua Harmon and premiered in 2025 at the Manhattan Theatre Club.
Over the course of the one hour, 40-minute play (no intermission), Harmon mixes humor and drama as the story centers on his dying grandmother, Renee (Amy Resnick) who is informed by Joshua (played in the Huntington Theatre production by Will Conard) that his next play will be about her.
(Photo: Eva Kaminsky as “Ellen” with Will Conard as “Joshua” in a scene from Joshua Harmon's "WE HAD A WORLD" presented by Huntington Theatre Company at the BCA/Calderwood, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, MA. through March 15, 2026. Photo Credit: Annielly Camargo)
Joshua confesses to Renee that he secretly recorded their last conversation, during which he informed her about how his next play, THIS play, would be about their family.
Be it a tribute or dissertation, what is the only thing Renee requests of her playwright grandson?
To make his story “bitter, vitriolic” and above all, to make it an honest account of the journey of their family, specifically when it comes to some of the more difficult moments in their familial relationships.
Joshua agrees and subsequently takes us all along his journey, completely obliterating the fourth wall as "WE HAD A WORLD" explores three decades of familial dysfunction and love.
Conard does a terrific job serving as narrator Joshua who steers most of the scenes which not only shine a light on his relationship with Renee but also with Renee’s relationship with Joshua’s mother, Ellen (Eva Kaminsky).
(Photo: Amy Resnick as “Renee” in a scene from Joshua Harmon's "WE HAD A WORLD" presented by Huntington Theatre Company at the BCA/Calderwood, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, MA. through March 15, 2026. Photo Credit: Annielly Camargo)
One thing Harmon does admirably in his text for "WE HAD A WORLD" is to not to place either Renee or Ellen into a one-dimensional role of villain.
They are both rendered lovingly by someone who appreciated them both, faults and all.
Through heavy personal exploration in the Huntington Theatre staging, we witness the evolution of their contentious relationship, watching as mother and daughter navigate their troubled waters, mostly centering on Renee’s personal demons and Ellen’s hostile estrangement from her sister.
(Photo: Will Conard as “Joshua” with Amy Resnick as “Renee” in a scene from Joshua Harmon's "WE HAD A WORLD" presented by Huntington Theatre Company at the BCA/Calderwood, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, MA. through March 15, 2026. Photo Credit: Annielly Camargo)
Resnick is absolutely wonderful playing up to the brutally unapologetic “unfiltered” nature of grandmother Renee, and expertly jumps between various age representations of the character.
Kaminsky gives a dynamic portrayal of Ellen, who is forced to assume the role of parent to her struggling mother, seemingly with little support from her father and siblings who simply refuse to acknowledge Renee’s worsening problem, thus further dividing family as a result.
While unfolding mainly in an anecdotal way, "WE HAD A WORLD" tends to bounce from different eras which serves the material well, as does the grandiose set design which is vast but with clearly focused areas where much of the action takes place.
(Photo: Will Conard as “Joshua” in a scene from Joshua Harmon's "WE HAD A WORLD" presented by Huntington Theatre Company at the BCA/Calderwood, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, MA. through March 15, 2026. Photo Credit: Annielly Camargo)
Because Joshua loves them both, he strives to help mend the wall that has been built between his mother and grandmother.
As directed by Fromm, "WE HAD A WORLD" is an impressive "memory play," blending pathos with humor while centering on the adversarial relationship between Joshua’s mother and grandmother.
Exploring the complexity of family relationships, even those most contentious, Huntington Theatre Company's "WE HAD A WORLD" also explores the mourning that comes when we ultimately lose those relationships.
(Photo: Will Conard as “Joshua” with Eva Kaminsky as “Ellen” in a scene from Joshua Harmon's "WE HAD A WORLD" presented by Huntington Theatre Company at the BCA/Calderwood, 527 Tremont Street, Boston, MA. through March 15, 2026. Photo Credit: Annielly Camargo)
Joshua Harmon's "WE HAD A WORLD" continues from Huntington Theatre Company at the Calderwood Pavilion in Boston until March 15th, 2026 and reminds us that, while there may be the word "fun" included within the word "dysfunctional"...that is where any coincidence ends.
Coming up at the Roberts Theatre at the BCA/Calderwood, 527 Tremont Street will be Luis Alfaro's “OEDIPUS EL RAY” running from May 7th through June 7th, 2026.
For tickets and more information, contact Huntington Theatre Company online at huntingtontheatre.org, by phone at # 617-266-0800 or in person at THE HUNTINGTON THEATRE, 264 Huntington Avenue, Boston.
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Approximately one hour, 40 minutes with no intermission.
Kevin T. Baldwin is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA)
@MetrmagReviews
@Theatre_Critics
ABOUT THE SHOW
In "WE HAD A WORLD" a dying woman calls her grandson and asks him to write a play about their family.
“But I want you to promise me something,” she says.
“Make it as bitter and vitriolic as possible.”
In this searing, funny, and deeply personal play, author of "Prayer for the French Republic" Joshua Harmon recreates thirty years of family fights, monstrous behavior, enduring love, and unexpected dishes of home-cooked spaetzle.
ABOUT THE HUNTINGTON THEATRE COMPANY
THE HUNTINGTON THEATRE COMPANY is Boston’s leading professional theatre and one of the region’s premier cultural assets since its founding in 1982. Recipient of the 2013 Regional Theatre Tony Award, THE HUNTINGTON brings together superb local and national talent and produces a mix of groundbreaking new works and classics made current to create award-winning productions. THE HUNTINGTON runs nationally renowned programs in education and new play development and serves the local theatre community through its operation of the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA. THE HUNTINGTON has long been an anchor cultural institution of Huntington Avenue, the Avenue of the Arts, and will remain so on a permanent basis with plans to convert the Huntington Avenue Theatre into a first-rate, modern venue with expanded services to audiences, artists, and the community. THE HUNTINGTON cultivates, celebrates, and champions theatre as an art form.
