Review: EVERY BRILLIANT THING at Adrienne Arsht Center

A quiet night watching a movie with my husband after the girls are asleep.

A trip to the nail salon for an afternoon of pampering.

A book so good that you rather lose sleep then set it down.

A Sunday afternoon spent enjoying the day instead of dreading the week.

Things worth living for...I can't help but keep the list going after seeing Zoetic Stage's 'Every Brilliant Thing'. Sometimes we can lose sight of the big picture. There's so much in life that can be soul crushing, but there is so much good to be lived and experienced. The message was very much alive in me and, I dare to say, the audience in general as we left the Carnival Theatre at the Adrienne Arsht Center and spilled into the lobby to continue the list on colorful post-it notes on a standing board labeled the "Wall of Brilliant Things".

The hug of little arms.

My Husband.

When a sibling brings you the toilet paper.

A really truthful play with a great actor.

And that it was, a really truthful play but a BRILLIANT actor.

Gregg Weiner effortlessly breathes life into the story of a man who spends most of his life trying to attempt to cure his mother's depression by creating a list of 'Every Brilliant Thing' worth living for. The list starts with his mother's first suicide attempt when he was just seven years old. The list grows as he matures from a child (Ice Cream), to teen (Sunlight), to college (Surprises) and later marriage (Falling in Love). He later discovers that the list maybe indeed more helpful to him in ways that it could never have been for his mother.

'Every Brilliant Thing' is an interactive play written by Duncan Macmillian and Johnny Donahoe which tightrope walks a delicate balance between loss and laughter. It was truly an immersive theatre experience where audience members played the actor's father, counselor, vet and wife while still other audience members served as numbers from his list. The ease in which Gregg Weiner dealt with this one-person play is a credit to him and his director Stuart Meltzer. He was instantly like-able, instantly relatable which made his story so compelling. The simplicity of the acting, story, set design and sound design was so exhilarating. The simplicity in all its complexity was a breath of fresh air and made me fall in love with the theatre yet again.

A date night during the week.

A vacation on the beach and a drink decorated with a tiny umbrella.

A four-day weekend.

Every Brilliant Thing.

This production is not to be missed. It will leave you feeling grateful to be alive.

February 14 - March 3, 2019

Every Brilliant Thing

Carnival Studio Theater

Tickets: $50, $55*

South Florida Premiere
By Duncan MacMillan
Directed by Stuart Meltzer

Photo by Chris Headshots

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