2024 - 4th Play - Everybody by Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins
From left, Alys Dickerson, Francesca Sobrer in Brown Paper Box Co.’s production at the Pride Arts Center Buena space in Chicago. Photo Credit: Zach Dries
I guess I’m still walking down the Pulitzer trail, although this one was accidental. I decided to read the play and later discovered that it was a Pulitzer finalist. I have loved Jacobs-Jenkins’ work since I had the great fortune to be an understudy for an amazing early production of APPROPRIATE at Victory Gardens several years ago. He’s so great at combining dark truths with HUMOR!
Summary: “This modern riff on the fifteenth-century morality play Everyman follows Everybody (chosen from amongst the cast by lottery at each performance) as they journey through life’s greatest mystery—the meaning of living.” From Dramatists Play Service.
Laura’s thoughts in brief: So, despite my great love for Jacobs-Jenkins’ work, this one was a harder read for me. Mostly because characters sometimes speak in LONG LONG MONOLOGUES. Now, this makes sense if you know anything about the source material, but Laura’s brain does not enjoy monologues. Also, all I could think about was that, because of the lottery part of the piece, several people in the cast had to memorize ALL OF THOSE GIANT MONOLOGUES, and only got to practice them a little before potentially being chosen to play them in the show. It hurt my brain a little, but more power to those that are excited to do that. That being said, I imagine that being in the space and being a part of this wonderfully interactive show would be quite fun, and the monologues would all be fabulous (they are well-written, if just too long for my taste) as you were listening and responding to them in the moment. Morality plays interest me little, except as important historical early theatre, but Jacobs-Jenkins, as usual, finds delightful humor and still makes some potent points. Everybody (the character, not all the characters) seems a little whiny to me as they beg various folx (FRIENDSHIP, COUSIN, STUFF, etc.) to join them in the “journey”, i.e. death. Those characters’ different ways of declining to be included in that journey are wonderfully modern and both funny and quite uncomfortable. Even reading you TOTALLY get why they don’t want to come, and yet you feel for Everybody, even as you feel like telling them to stop whining and feeling sorry for themselves. However, in a dark, atmostpheric theatre space, with a strong actor like my colleague, the amazing Alys Dickerson (How in the world did I not know this play was happening with her in Chicago?!!!) pictured above, I believe that Everybody’s cries would be very believable (and probably not whiny). And as Everybody is deserted at the end (this is NOT A SPOILER, come on, the original is from the 15th century) by all but two characters (okay, I won’t spoil which), particulary after being deserted by BEAUTY, STRENGTH, MIND and SENSES (it’s really not a spoiler to say these things desert Everybody before death, is it?), you truly feel the sense of mortality from the play. Is that good or bad? I don’t think that particular bit is enjoyable, but maybe, probably, definitely valuable. There are fun surprises and almost no fourth wall at all in the play. I loved that - some people would not. This play is another wonderful meta-theatrical event - my kind of play! I love that there is so much that a director could do conceptually with this piece - it really could be completely different for each production, and I think that is very exciting. I would love to play in this one day, or even direct it. Not as involving to read, but then a lot of the great meta-theatrical pieces aren’t. Someone do it in Chicago! Call me! ;)
READ MORE! Here’s what others had to say about other productions:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/21/theater/everybody-review-branden-jacobs-jenkins.html