The Lyons Tickets

Silver has created each character's background such that their uniting in a room in such circumstances makes the show inherently hilarious. The plot is about a situation where everyone in the Ben Layon family is ready to say and do as they please, unleashing an overly revelatory version of their inner most thoughts. Head of the family, Ben is lying in bed dying of cancer when his wife Rita and grown-up children Lisa and Curtis give him company in the presence of a nurse. Ben obviously cares no longer for manners or any kind of politeness, saying just about everything that pops in his head, while his middle-aged wife who has been living a loveless marriage is force to look at the bright side of the situation and planning life without Ben. Her immediate pleasant plans basically revolve round re-decorating. Their alcoholic daughter Lisa has just come out of an abusive marriage only to watch the dynamics between her parents. Their homosexual son, Curtis who has hardly had anything to do with his homophobic father, is now visiting and looking for an apartment to shift closer to home. Each of the characters are either entering or coming out of a bizarre situation together igniting a string of hilarious remarks, gnawing at each others' weak points with an air of not-very-precautious wit.

The Lyons opened with previews in September 2011 at the Vineyard Theatre where it ran for three months. Directed by Mark Brokaw, it featured Linda Lavin, Dick Latessa, Michael Esper, Kate Jennings, and Brenda Pressley. When it premiered on Broadway in April 2012 at the Cort Theatre, it continued with the same creative team and cast, and came to close after eighty performances along with twenty-one previews.

The show has been described as 'deliciously hilarious and dark' in Silver's uncanny ability to combine pain and humor in such a scenario. The play has garnered significant acclaim in the shape of awards and nominations including a Tony Award-nomination in 2012. It has also been nominated for two Drama League Awards in the categories of Distinguished Production and Distinguished Performance; nominations for Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Actress and Outstanding Play; Outer Critics Circle Award-nominations for New Broadway Play and Outstanding Actress.

This is a play not to be missed so make sure to grab The Lyons tickets and be there to laugh it off as you ponder over some serious underlying human issues.