The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey at Kranzberg Black Box

Review: THE ABSOLUTE BRIGHTNESS OF LEONARD PELKEY at The Kranzberg Blackbox Theatre

Midnight Company’s Joe Hanrahan performs all nine roles in the play that is narrated by detective Chuck Desantis as he tries to solve the mystery of what happened to Leonard. Along the way the audience is introduced to Leonard’s Aunt Ellen, his cousin Phoebe, one of his bullies, Tyler, and to about another half-dozen characters. Hanrahan again proves himself an adept storyteller in a one-actor show as he effortlessly transitions in-and-out of characters using physical acting choices as opposed to significant alterations in his voice. Hanrahan is at his best when portraying Leonard’s aunt as she emotionally confronts one of her nephew’s bullies, but all of his characterizations have the requisite depth to make each character real.

Previews: THE ABSOLUTE BRIGHTNESS OF LEONARD PELKEY At Midnight Company At The Kranzberg Blackbox Theater

The Midnight Company will present the THE ABSOLUTE BRIGHTNESS OF LEONARD PELKEY, by Celeste Lecesne from May 4-20 at The Kranzberg Black Box Theatre. Joe Hanrahan, Midnight’s Artistic Director, will play all the roles in this show including a detective, as well as the other characters, in a small New Jersey town as he unravels the story of Leonard Pelkey, a tenaciously optimistic and flamboyant fourteen-year-old boy who goes missing.  A luminous force of nature whose magic is only truly felt once he is gone, Leonard becomes an unexpected inspiration as the town’s citizens question how they live, who they love, and what they leave behind.

Previews: MIDNIGHT COMPANY 2023 SEASON at Midnight Company

The Midnight Company announces it 2023 five-show season that includes two world premiere productions. The Season opens on March 1, 2023 with the world premiere production of JUST ONE LOOK based on the life and career of Linda Ronstadt at The Blue Strawberry. Midnight Company continues its season with THE ABSOLUTE BRIGHTNESS OF LEONARD KELLY at The Kranzberg Black Box  May 4th -20th,  THE YEARS at The Chapel July 13th-29th, and YOU MADE ME LOVE YOU at The Blue Strawberry July 26th – August 9th.  Midnight Company closes its season with a production of THE LION IN WINTER at the .ZACK October 5th-21st.