By Nate Brown
Approaching the Harman Theatre to watch Utah Shakespeare Festival’s presentation of Every Brilliant Thing in West Valley City, Utah brought a flood of memories. Formerly the location of the West Valley Hale Centre Theatre, this space has been entertaining and educating audiences for decades.
As my family and I found our seats, we reminisced of previous shows seen here. Suddenly, actor Cordell Cole approached us. “Would you be willing to read these cards when I call out this number?” My son had “#1: Ice cream.”
We knew immediately this would be no ordinary show.
Every Brilliant Thing is a one-man or one-woman show that begins with a storyteller relating the narrative of when, at seven-years-old, they were taken to see their mother after her first attempt at taking her life. The storyteller reacts to this by creating a list of everything brilliant about the world.
Ice cream. Water fights. Staying up past your bedtime and being allowed to watch TV.
And so much more. This list grows as the storyteller’s life goes on, exploring the depression and hope, confusion and joy, guilt and forgiveness, and many other ups and downs of life and their relationships.
Cole is simply…brilliant. Ten parts actor, four parts MC, Cole dances and glides around the stage with confidence and riveting honesty. His vulnerability creates an open window into the joy and pains of his character. So much so that it is hard to believe that this isn’t his story. His life. His mother and father. His journey.
During the talk-back after the show, he makes it clear why it feels so authentic. So biographical. The story may be a work of fiction created by playwrights Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe. The movement and speech may be directed gorgeously by Michael Doherty. The lights and sounds are designed to evoke emotion and are run seamlessly by Kristine Nordby and Emily Marie Wilke. This work has tour managers (Austin J. Andrews and Jordan Simmons). It is played by a diverse group of actors (including Samae Allred, Kat Lee, and Jeremy Thompson). But despite being a produced work of fiction, the themes and events of the story are from real lives.
From our life.
This rang true throughout Cole’s performance. His losses were my losses, and his flaws were my flaws. I was his father. I was his father’s son. I found myself relating so often that it almost felt like he was telling my story.
And that’s the point. The play wants us to remember four things:
- You are not alone.
- You are not weird.
- It gets better.
- Life goes on.
Cole invites us to remember these things and to talk about them. To trust. To grow.
Every Brilliant Thing is appropriate for all audiences, but the hopeful themes of death, suicide, depression, and anxiety are probably best understood and enjoyed by adults, tweens, and teenagers. This performance was for one-night-only at the Harman Theatre in West Valley, but it has tour dates throughout northern Utah through February 5, 2020. This production is sponsored by the State of Utah and many other organizations, so that every public school district high school in Utah can be offered a free performance.
Every Brilliant Thing should be on every family’s to-do list this winter!
Suicide Prevention Resources:
- School Counseling Offices
- Therapists/Psychologists
- https://hope4utah.com/hope-squad/
- School District Suicide Crisis Teams
- https://www.schools.utah.gov/scep/suicideprevention
- https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
- Primary Children’s Hospital Suicide Prevention
- https://healthcare.utah.edu/uni/safe-ut/#
Utah Shakespeare Festival presents Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe
Harman Theatre, 3333 Decker Lake Dr, West Valley City, UT 84119
Friday, January 24, 2020, 7:00 PM
Tickets: Free Admission, tickets available at www.harmantheatre.org
801-965-5140
Harman Theatre Website
Harman Theatre Facebook Page
Every Brilliant Thing Facebook Event
Every Brilliant Thing Tour Info
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