Every Brilliant Thing
Vintage Theatre: March 8 – April 14
John Ashton as the Narrator
“Every Brilliant Thing” is a play about a boy whose depression after his mother’s attempted suicide leads him to start to write a list of all the wonderful things that make life worth living as a gift for her.
“Every Brilliant Thing” is a play about a boy whose depression after his mother’s attempted suicide leads him to start to write a list of all the wonderful things that make life worth living as a gift for her.
As he grows up we see the list grow through happy times and sad, love found and love lost. Although there are some sad moments, there are also a lot of smiles and laughter. (Be assured that this is not a maudlin tear-jerker.)
John Ashton is the Narrator of this show, and anyone who has ever seen this actor onstage, knows that he/she is in for an unforgettable evening of great theatre.
Showcasing Ashton’s charismatic humor and unabashed empathy, Peter J. Hughes directs the proceedings with a deft hand.
To say that the show is interactive is to overstate the obvious. It’s about as close to a conversation between actor and playgoer as there will ever be. Upon entering, audience members receive numbered cards imprinted with words or short phrases which they read aloud when their number is called. “Really good oranges,” “birdsong,” “watching little kids learn to use chopsticks.”
There is very gentle, and very enjoyable audience participation in this show.
Ashton’s gift for theatre allows for an easy joyful interaction for each and all. This reviewer and another audience member held a keyboard aloft so Ashton could add some musical notes to the conversation.
In the newly reconfigured Bond-Trimble Auditorium this poignant piece becomes more than intimate. Now it’s an all-inclusive circle creating what feels like a truly safe space for this heart opening experience.
In the capable hands of Ashton and Vintage Theatre’s production team, Duncan MacMillan’s and Jonny Donahue’s touching play about one man’s struggle with mental illness becomes an indelible evening of theatre.
Vintage Theatre presents
“Every Brilliant Thing”
by Duncan MacMillan and Jonny Donahoe
A Regional Premiere, Directed by Peter J. Hughes
Starring John Ashton
A Regional Premiere, Directed by Peter J. Hughes
Starring John Ashton
March 8 – April 14, 2019
Fri/Sat at 7:30 p.m.; Sundays at 2:30 p.m.
(No performance Sunday, March 17)
$16 - $32
www.vintagetheatre.org or 303-856-7830.
Vintage Theatre, 1468 Dayton St., Aurora 80010.
1 hour and 15 minutes, with no intermission
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