The funny and observant little heart-tugger “Every Brilliant Thing” is a reminder that good things come in small packages.
Mind you, although this U.K. import — written by Duncan Macmillan, performed by Jonny Donahoe, who also added material, and directed by George Perrin — lasts only for an hour, the subject is vast.
It’s about life and death. Specifically, it’s about what makes being on this Earth worthwhile between your first breath and your last.
When you’re a 7-year-old boy whose depressed mother has just tried to kill herself — or as your dad so helpfully puts it, “done something stupid” — you think about those things. A lot.
Then you make a list of what’s good and put it on your mom’s pillow to convince her why she should stick around.
1. Ice cream 2. Water fights 3. Staying up past your bedtime and being allowed to watch TV 4. The color yellow.
And so on.
The boy gets bigger. The list grows. And Mom, still depressed, takes another whack at suicide 10 years after the first. And the boy starts fearing he’s prone to depression. The reality: You can come up with a million reasons to live, but sometimes that’s not enough to counteract depression.
The play, which began as a short story, gets the audience at the Barrow Street Theatre in on the act. Before Donahoe begins the show, he hands audience members a piece of paper or an item with one “thing” written on it.
201. Hammocks 654. Marlon Brando 525,924. Track 7 on every great record. And so on.
When Donahoe, an appealing actor and comedian, calls out a number, you say the “thing.” To enact a few scenes, some audience members are pulled into the playing space — a small area surrounded by chairs. From the robust readings, people got into delivering their line. We’re all in this together, after all.
Though simply staged, the show is a high-wire act, and its creator, director and star maintain the fragile balance. The play never tips from charming to cloying — another “Brilliant Thing” to add to the list.
jdziemianowicz@nydailynews.com
