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This is Our Youth

Kenneth Lonergan

3.78 · Rating details · 1,598 ratings · 73 reviews

Dennis—with a famous painter father and social activist mother—is a small-time drug dealer and total mess. His hero-worshipping friend Warren has just impulsively stolen $15,000 from his father, an abusive lingerie tycoon. When Jessica, a mixed-up prep school girl, shows up for a date, Warren pulls out a wad of bills and takes her off, awkwardly, for a night of seduction. ...more

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Paperback, 128 pages

Published February 2nd 2000 by Harry N. Abrams (first published January 1st 1999)

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May 16, 2020 Dave Schaafsma rated it really liked it

Shelves: drama

I know Kenneth Lonergan through some great films such as Manchester by the Sea but never read or saw a production of this play, which was said to define (yet another) lost generation of young people. I was even living in Manhattan in 1996 when it premiered to great acclaim, but the focus of the play--three rich white teens living on the upper west side, eh--I thought I had better and more useful things to do with my time. But now I listened to a great 2014 LA Theater Works production of the play I know Kenneth Lonergan through some great films such as Manchester by the Sea but never read or saw a production of this play, which was said to define (yet another) lost generation of young people. I was even living in Manhattan in 1996 when it premiered to great acclaim, but the focus of the play--three rich white teens living on the upper west side, eh--I thought I had better and more useful things to do with my time. But now I listened to a great 2014 LA Theater Works production of the play featuring Josh Hamilton, Mark Ruffalo (Hulk, right!) and Missy Yager, reprising roles they had done more than a decade earlier in NYC.

These three kids are rich, two guys just graduated from some rich prep school and a girl who is a prep school student. They have resources and no plans, no ambitions, and are in no way admirable (though in this production, a kind of looking back, there is some empathy for their being lost that I detect). Dennis is a small time drug dealer, Warren has just stolen $15 k in cash from his dad and wants to "get together with" and impress Jessica. Nonme of them have anything going for them except they are privileged rich white kids, and yet the dialogue is terrific, often funny, occasionally touching.

I see this piece in tandem with Larry Clark's (1995) film Kids (about rich mostly white Manhattan middle school kids lost already in drugs and sex), both sort of moral warnings about kids nowadaze. And they are both scary in certain ways and funny in their hopelessness, too. But Youth is less hopeless because though Dennis and Warren are stupid and abusive and profane, there are touching moments between Warren and Jessica, especially.

I also see clear connections between Lonergan and David Mamet--the great dialogue, the lost ainless characters mainly just talking, the exploration of "the present moment" and the swirl of ethical dilemmas. I know, I haven't sold you yet on why you should read or listen to this, none of them are admirable, but at least for moments they seem vulnerable and we are surprised to care about them. Such great performances, followed by a discussion with the playwright, the director and the three actors that is terrific.

...more

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Mar 30, 2008 Kristopher Jansma rated it really liked it

Shelves: bookblog

Once upon a time, I was the president of my college theater group and I can't say how many times this play came up as an option to be produced. I never read the play - I heard the plot synopsis and I was sold on the spot - slacker youths, drugs and sex, lots of cursing, and that it had somehow stood out as the quintessential play in the genre. For all those same reasons, my fellow board members routinely voted it down... not that we always did such clean, happy shows, but I'm just saying that my Once upon a time, I was the president of my college theater group and I can't say how many times this play came up as an option to be produced. I never read the play - I heard the plot synopsis and I was sold on the spot - slacker youths, drugs and sex, lots of cursing, and that it had somehow stood out as the quintessential play in the genre. For all those same reasons, my fellow board members routinely voted it down... not that we always did such clean, happy shows, but I'm just saying that my cries to do Bogosian's "SubUrbia" fell on similarly deaf ears.

Anyway, after years and years I thought I might actually like to read the play and see what we'd missed out on. I picked it up while bored in a bookstore in Harvard Square over the winter and read through most of Act One in the fifteen minutes or so I had to kill. I'd recently gone to see "Things We Want" by The New Group and, while I enjoyed parts of the show quite a bit (Dinklage and Hamilton... but I'll get to Hamilton) I kept thinking - "This just isn't 'This is Our Youth' but I know it wants to be." That's when it hit me that I had never actually read the play I was saying it was inferior to.

So, now that I have, I can say that my earlier, baseless statements were right. The play is quite a lot of fun and almost exactly what I had envisioned during the years it lived in my imagination as just a concept. It's witty, rough, irreverent, and hypnotic, despite very little actually going on. There's a vague plot surrounding some stolen money, without which, I suppose, there's not much action... but predictably that doesn't really come to much in the end - aside from giving the boys the means to get some drugs. No, the main thrill of the play is watching the interaction between Dennis and Warren, our two slacker-heroes. Dennis is the clear master in the relationship at first - he bosses lovably meek Warren around, which only leads Warren to further idol-worship Dennis. The real plot of the play is not some stuff about drugs and cash, but about watching Warren break free of Dennis's control and step into his own for the first time. It's a powerful, moving little progression - you cannot help but be similarly drawn to the magnanimity that is Dennis - he's fast-talking, quick witted, hopelessly manipulative, and fascinating. It was no surprise to me to finally notice at the end of my read that the part was originated by none other than Josh Hamilton - without prompting, I'd been picturing him all along - in part because of his somewhat similar role in Things We Want. Warren is a much more interesting version of the character played by Paul Dano in Things We Want - and originally was played by Mark Ruffalo, which was surprising and yet seems perfect. I'd been somewhat imagining a meek, Dead -Poets-Society-era Ethan Hawke (who directed Things We Want!).

At any rate, I am now sad that I'll probably never get to see Hamilton in the role (he's still damn good, but not quite 25 anymore). And I'm doubly sad that we never got to put up the show when I was in college. Perhaps someday, somewhere, I'll stumble onto a little college production somewhere and finally get to see it staged. Until then, I guess I'm just glad I actually know what I'm talking about when I say things aren't as good as This Is Our Youth.
...more

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Aug 08, 2020 TraceyL rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: humor, theatre

Teenage stoners talking about life, love and drugs.

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Jun 14, 2018 Emma Getz rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorite-plays, drama

I really love this play as a character and dialogue study. Also I love reading about rich morally ambiguous young adults throwing their lives away for fun. Like a 1980s Jewish Gossip Girl that was actually really sad and pretty moving and very emotionally poignant.

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Jan 02, 2009 Caroline rated it really liked it

It's a wonderful character study that shows how intelligent, unique, young adults who are slackers can be both insightful and pathetic.
I learned that the line between success and failure is a fine one in all areas of our lives. We can easily become stuck in cycles, delve deeper into our eccentricities and just as easily find hope, acceptance, and love. ...more

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Jul 06, 2017 Emma Kay Krebs rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: plays

2.5 stars.

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Aug 11, 2016 Tom O'Brien rated it really liked it

Shelves: plays

Some of the dialogue is overwrought and contradictory, the characters don't always act consistently or even in their own best interests. Their views are far from fully formed but expressed vehemently. A fairly accurate and funny emotional snapshot of being young then? Yes. ...more

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Nov 19, 2020 Andy Herrera rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I watched a Zoom performance of this a month ago and really loved it. It’s interesting to read it as a play as someone who doesn’t really read plays. This is very much My Shit so I’m biased but I loved the texture and style put into these young characters’ existential crises and how it’s astutely juxtaposed against the Reaganite nightmare of their day to day lives (this play has uh aged extremely well in that respect). They’re simultaneously pathetic and relatable, which is such a tricky tightro ...more

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Aug 20, 2020 Leo Robertson rated it liked it

Eek, there was definitely a horrible thing going on in the 80s with New York middle class twentysomethings, as has been so successfully documented in fiction:

They were all a buncha dicks!

Who cares?

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May 12, 2016 Downward rated it really liked it

kenneth lonergan gives us a play that feels like bogosian considering the distresses of white urban rich kids, overflowing with the anger and issues that haunt people who have graduated high school and have nowhere else to go, but because theyre rich find the going noncompulsory. it's about three teens, two guys and a girl, and it's about friendship and power dynamics and how we process feelings when we're used to being degraded and diminished. there's lots of drugs and lots of cursing and maybe ...more

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Jul 10, 2019 Connor added it

Shelves: books-i-love

This is one of those plays that upsets me because it is exactly the kind of thing I want to write but done with a skill and power that feels unattainable.

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Jan 27, 2021 Gil T. rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

“This Is Our Youth” By Kenneth Lonergan

“This Is Our Youth”
By Kenneth Lonergan
Narrated by: Mark Ruffalo, Missy Yager, Josh Hamilton
Length: 1 hr and 41 mins
Published September 25th 2009 by LA Theatre Works

This almost could have been me. I was a teen in the Reagan 80s, and well smoking pot was the thing to do. I didn't live in a big city, my dad wasn't rich and well, I guess maybe this couldn't have been me. I never got the chance to steal $15k from my dad when he kicked me out, Instead I joined th “This Is Our Youth” By Kenneth Lonergan

“This Is Our Youth”
By Kenneth Lonergan
Narrated by: Mark Ruffalo, Missy Yager, Josh Hamilton
Length: 1 hr and 41 mins
Published September 25th 2009 by LA Theatre Works

This almost could have been me. I was a teen in the Reagan 80s, and well smoking pot was the thing to do. I didn't live in a big city, my dad wasn't rich and well, I guess maybe this couldn't have been me. I never got the chance to steal $15k from my dad when he kicked me out, Instead I joined the Navy. It's official, nope not me.

However I do know these people in this play. But first let's talk about the actors in this performance from L.A. Theatre Works. This is Mark Ruffalo before he was the Incredible Hulk in those Marvel movies. In fact, this production is a reunion of sorts. The original cast from the off broadway original production got back together with the original director to do this show for LATW. I'm sure that when originally performed back in 1996 the actors were closer to the age of the teenagers they portrayed than when getting back together for this performance, but I can tell you that they seemed to fit right back in with those characters.

Warren (played by Ruffalo) is kicked out of his rich dad's house. To get revenge he steals $15,000 from his dad and heads to his friend, Dennis' apartment. The two potsmokers decide they need to get the money back, but Warren has already spent a sizable chunk of the cash. Now they need to get back the money so they can sneak the original amount back into Warren's dads house. The plan is to buy some cocaine and sell enough to make back their money plus the missing amount and do the rest themselves.

While Dennis is out getting the coke, Warren gets a visit from Jessica. Jessic and Warren take another chunk of the money and party on the town, even renting out a ritzy hotel room. This just makes it harder to make the money back so the scheming begins.

I strongly feel this play could be performed even today and still be relevant. If you want a cool theatre audio experience this would be a great choice. If you want to perform a play touching out today's youth, this play would still be a great choice.

Once again LATW has brought to life a play to the audio audience that will put you in the middle of the performance. ...more

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Dec 01, 2017 Adrian Collins rated it really liked it

Knowing people in real life who are almost exact replicas of these characters made this play ever so real and close. This is a stunningly accurate portrayal of American youth in a timeless way. The themes of desperate altruism in a time of economic oppression ring just as true in the Reagan era as in the Trump era. This play puts a lot of focus on language (something I love and prefer anytime I read a play) and allows us to look at each character not for just how they present themselves to their ...more

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Feb 17, 2019 Anna Fernands rated it it was amazing

This is one of the best books I’ve read in some time. It was frank and real. It portrayed the life of lost stoner kids trying to learn how to function and hold healthy relationships - often failing. The relationships were brutally real and accurately displayed social anxiety, abuse, and people’s relationship with drugs. The ending of this book was beautiful and it reminded me deeply of some of my own experiences.

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Oct 20, 2020 aisha added it

okay i watched an online production of the play so i'm counting it (esp because i had the play open in another tab and kept referring to it because i'm just like that). great production with cool cast! i had a laugh and it had moments that had me sit with myself for a bit, but not too many of them. i liked it! felt seen a couple times so that's always exciting. yeah, read it if you like but it's probably a lot more fun to see it. ...more

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Dec 14, 2016 Niall rated it really liked it

The first Lonergan play I've read and it has only gone further to confirm my suspicion that he is a genius after he's released three masterpieces in a row with You Can Count On Me, Margaret, and Manchester-by-the-Sea. His ability to capture the essence of a teenager surpasses that of almost any other artist I can think of. ...more

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Dec 06, 2018 Rikki rated it it was ok

Shelves: assigned-reading

Had to read this for my English class. It was mildly entertaining, but the characters were (likely intentionally) overblown. None of them could really be identified with. I get that this is supposed to be an exaggerated exploration of bored, dazed and confused youth, but... I dunno. It was just okay.

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Apr 26, 2020 Christelle rated it really liked it

Shelves: genre-play

I really enjoyed the zoom performance of the play on the Acting For A Cause Youtube channel. I remembered reading the play years ago but not really connecting to any characters. I am glad I got to watch it online and I hope one day I will see it performed on stage.

Actors: Alex Wolff as Warren, Justice Smith as Dennis, Florence Pugh as Jessica and Brando Crowford as the stage director.

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Jan 01, 2021 Gadi Zaig rated it really liked it

Really started getting into plays. I read this play to get a better context of a monologue I’ve been wanting to do from it. I can really connect to both Dennis and Warren in Kenneth Lonergan’s work. It freshly describes the human condition of men in their late teens/early 20s. It’s definitely one of my more favorite contemporary plays.

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Oct 13, 2017 Rosaleen Lynch rated it liked it

This is Our Youth captures the angst young people are left with by their elders (exacerbated by their peers). A reminder of 'our youth' whether it was in the 80s in New York, USA or the 80's in Cork, Ireland. We knew nothing and everything. And we will never again know as much or as little. ...more

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Aug 26, 2017 Cary S rated it liked it

Shelves: plays

I enjoyed this. Very "slice of [bleak] life," with some excellent character work. The last 20 or so pages really elevated it. I wish the first act had had a bit more momentum. ...more

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Feb 13, 2018 Daniel rated it really liked it

Shelves: plays-theater, read-in-2018

Pushes through its insularity to find a heartbeat, by the end.

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Sep 15, 2018 Emily rated it liked it

Shelves: plays, fall-2018

Really fascinated by Lonergan's use of "like" for Warren. There's not a comma unless it's important. ...more

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Oct 30, 2018 Taylor Hudson rated it liked it

Shelves: plays

Lonergan writes killer dialogue - so simple it reads like a slice of life - I definitely feel like I know these kids he's writing about. Rich white kids get in over there head with drugs and love. ...more

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Jan 06, 2019 Emily Fortuna rated it did not like it

I just wasted some of my youth reading this

The characters barely change over the course of the play.

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Mar 30, 2019 Tori ReadsALot rated it liked it

I really enjoyed this play, Dennis and Warren are hilarious.

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Feb 16, 2020 Jaclyn rated it liked it

Shelves: read-in-2020, plays

I can't decide how I feel about this play. It's very slice of life and I like the concept of this play. I think I would need another read-through of it before I decide to direct it ...more

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Oct 10, 2020 Ron rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: drama

Captures the zeitgeist but doesn’t satisfy

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Jan 18, 2021 Shaun rated it really liked it

you would probably have a crush on jessica

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Dec 09, 2017 Nicholas Montemarano rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

LOVED THIS PLAY. So much that as soon as I finished it, I started again from the beginning and simply highlighted every moment—and there are many—of its everyday poetry.

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