EVERY BRILLIANT THING Comes to Florida Rep's ArtStage Studio Theatre

Florida Repertory Theatre has announced the opening of "Every Brilliant Thing" by Duncan MacMillan and Jonny Donahoe. Playing in the ArtStage Studio Theatre Feb. 28 to Mar. 29, the run includes four nearly sold-out previews Feb. 25 - 27.

1) Ice cream. 2) Rollercoasters. 3) Staying up past your bedtime. This brand-new one-person-play is an unexpectedly funny and inventive story of how a seven-year-old boy copes with his mother's depression by making a list of everything brilliant that makes life worth living.

As time passes and the list grows, what began as an innocent attempt to deal with tragedy becomes an epic chronicle of life's small joys. "Every Brilliant Thing" is a touching, funny, and intimate one-person tour-de-force that charts the lengths we will go for those we love and asks the audience's help to tell the story in a setting the ArtStage Studio Theatre has never seen! "Every Brilliant Thing" is an electrifying new play that strikes a delicate balance between sobering loss and cathartic laughter.

"I cannot wait for our audiences to see this important and refreshing new play," said Artistic Director Greg Longenhagen. "Not only is this play inventive and funny, but it is also poignant and packed with heart and emotion. The play deals with some critical issues, and it asks us to be open about mental illness and to have a frank discussion about how we deal with depression and how it impacts families - but it does it through humor and personal connection. This unique play is not one to miss."

Florida Rep is also pleased to announce a one-of-a-kind partnership with Kids' Minds Matter, the pediatric behavioral and mental health initiative of Lee Health and the Golisano Children's Hospital. With support from Kids' Minds Matter and the Lee County School District, hundreds of high school students will be attending special student matinee performances which will include post-performance talkbacks with the cast and mental health professionals. In addition to the student matinee performances, Florida Rep will be sending its production to Bonita Springs High School where even more students will see the play and participate in a talkback.

"Every Brilliant Thing" stars Michael Satow as the play's narrator and protagonist. Satow is a New York actor who is returning to Florida Rep after appearances in some of the biggest comic hits in the theatre's recent history, including "Lend me a Tenor," "The Hound of the Baskervilles" and as Mortimer Brewster in 2014's nationally acclaimed "Arsenic and Old Lace." In addition to his work on stages across the country, Satow plays a recurring role on the CBS series, "The Good Fight."

Director, Eleanor Holdridge, returns to Florida Rep after helming last season's hit musical, "Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical." She works extensively in regional theatre, holds an MFA from Yale and is Head of Directing and Producer at the Catholic University of America's Department of Drama. Holdridge leads an expert creative team including set designer Tim Billman ("Always...Patsy Cline"), costume designer Brooke Arthur (Florida Rep debut), lighting designer (Annalise Caudle (Florida Rep Debut), sound designer Katie Lowe ("A Gentleman's Guide") and ensemble stage manager Amy L. Massari ("Barefoot in the Park").

"Every Brilliant Thing" by Duncan MacMillan with Jonny Donahoe is generously sponsored by Kids' Minds Matter. The media sponsor is WGCU Public Media.

"Every Brilliant Thing plays in the ArtStage Studio Theatre Feb. 28 - Mar. 29 with four discounted previews Feb. 25-27. Tickets start at $55 for regular performances and $35 for previews. Tickets are available online at www.FloridaRep.org and through the box office at 239-332-4488.

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