Editor’s note: Every Brilliant Thing is a brilliant and intimate play and the Goodman Mainstage at the MYAC is the ideal location.
MILWAUKEE CHAMBER THEATRE’S WARM-HEARTED COMEDY EVERY BRILLIANT THING SPOTLIGHTS MENTAL HEALTH, COMMUNITY, AND LIFE’S SIMPLE PLEASURES
Directed by Northern Sky Theater Artistic Director Molly Rhode
Features beloved Milwaukee actors James Carrington and Elyse Edelman
MILWAUKEE, WI – February 19, 2025 – Milwaukee Chamber Theatre (MCT) continues its landmark 50th Anniversary 2024/25 Season with warm-hearted comedy favorite EVERY BRILLIANT THING by Duncan McMillan and Jonny Donahoe. Directed by Northern Sky Theater Artistic Director and Milwaukee native Molly Rhode, the production will run from February 28 to March 16, 2025, in Goodman Mainstage Hall at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center. Tickets are available online at www.milwaukeechambertheatre.org or by calling the Broadway Theatre Center box office at 414-291-7800.
1: Ice cream. 2: Kung Fu movies. 3: Staying up past your bedtime to watch TV. Those are just the start of a list of every brilliant thing that makes life worth living, created in this luminous mix of theater and stand-up and delivered in alternate performances by two of Milwaukee’s best-loved actors in James Carrington (First Stage, Northern Sky, Next Act, others), and Elyse Edelman (MCT, Next Act, First Stage, Forward, others). Described by The Guardian as “one of the funniest plays you’ll ever see about depression—and possibly one of the funniest plays you’ll ever see, full stop,” this beloved coming-of-age story celebrates each of our capacities to delight in the little things and our resilience in going further than we think we can for those we love.
“I couldn’t be more excited to share EVERY BRILLIANT THING with our community. It carries on MCT’s long tradition of exceptional solo performance plays featuring some of Milwaukee’s finest artists while ideally exemplifying how theater can bring our community closer together,” said MCT Artistic Director Brent Hazelton. “By starting from the awareness that everyone has at some point felt less than their best or lived through mental and behavioral health challenges with family or friends, the play reminds us that none of us can go through our lives alone—and that that’s actually perfectly natural.”
ALL-LOCAL CREATIVE TEAM LEADS EVERY BRILLIANT THING
Director Molly Rhode returns to Milwaukee Chamber Theatre after leading a well-loved production of GREAT EXPECTATIONS in 2017, about which On Milwaukee.com proclaimed, “Chamber’s masterful GREAT EXPECTATIONS exceeds every single [expectation]…an
inventiveness I have rarely seen on a stage.” John Jahn for Shepherd Express called it “something to cherish and celebrate…well-acted, amusing, touching, sprightly paced, and superbly staged…a truly enjoyable evening at the theater,” while Urban Milwaukee’s Dominique Noth said, “Rhode has set a high bar.”
While written and performed as a solo-actor play, MCT’s production of EVERY BRILLIANT THING has been double-cast, offering audiences a chance to see both Edelman (INDECENT, THE NOT-SO-ACCIDENTAL CONVICTION OF ELEVEN MILWAUKEE “ANARCHISTS”) and Carrington (MCT Debut) in alternating performances. Milwaukee native Edelman was last seen at MCT in …”ANARCHISTS”, for which critics lauded her as “impressive, skillful” (Ryan Jay Reviews) and “start-to-finish fabulous” (Milwaukee Magazine). “I think this is a beautiful play. It’s a dream project, really. Milwaukee Chamber Theatre is honestly one of my artistic homes,” said Edelman. “It’s a communal and celebratory activity to be able to tell this story together.” Edelman will perform on Feb 28, March 2, 6, 8 (8pm), 12, 14, 15 (4pm), and 16.
Longtime Milwaukee artist Carrington makes his MCT debut in EVERY BRILLIANT THING. “I love this play,” said Carrington. “I love the message, the theme. I think it’s so funny; it’s so warm. It disarms you a little bit with how funny and touching it is. When the world is difficult and feels relentless, this show reminds you that things can be okay. It invites you in—regardless of where you come from, regardless of who you are. Theatre is for everybody; this show is for everybody. I think in Milwaukee in 2025 we need to remind ourselves of the joy in life, of the simple things in life, but also that we are in this together.” Carrington will perform on March 1, 5, 7, 8 (4pm), 9, 13, and 15 (8pm).
The production will be designed and created by Jim Guy (Properties Designer), Martilia Marechal (Sound Designer), Ellie Rabinowitz (Lighting Designer), Beck Trumbull (Assistant Stage Manager), and Emily Marie Wilke (Stage Manager), rounding out the all-local team.
MCT RETURNS TO “PERFECT” GOODMAN MAINSTAGE HALL
EVERY BRILLIANT THING will be performed at Goodman Mainstage Hall in the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center, the same venue where MCT opened the season with its critically acclaimed production of AN ILIAD. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Jim Higgins noted upon seeing AN ILIAD, “Goodman Mainstage Hall is the perfect venue for this storytelling approach… one of the best small venues in Milwaukee; I hope more companies discover it.” Built in 2005 and renovated in 2021, MYAC provides exceptional facilities with state-of-the-art features, including the warm and welcoming Burke Commons, where patrons can gather in comfort before performances and the recently renovated 142-seat Goodman Mainstage Hall, offering audiences an intimate and immersive experience through its arena-style seating. “We’re thrilled to return to MYAC, and to drop this inherently communal play in the Goodman’s in-the-round orientation. It’s such a comfortable, accessible venue and as we saw with ILIAD ideally suited to this sort of solo performance where the actor is in direct conversation with the audience,” said Hazelton.
The Milwaukee Youth Arts Center is located at 325 W Walnut St, at the corner of Walnut and Dr Martin Luther King Jr Dr. It is across the street from Milwaukee Public School’s Golda Meir School, with a parking lot that faces the Golda Meir Upper Campus. Additional parking is available in the Golda Meir School lots outside of school hours. More information is available at www.milwaukeechambertheatre.org/every-brilliant-thing
KEY DATES + EVENTS
EVERY BRILLIANT THING by Duncan McMillan and Jonny Donahoe, will run from February 28 toMarch 16, 2025 at Goodman Mainstage Hall in the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center, 325 W Walnut St, Milwaukee, WI 53212.
- Preview: Friday, February 28 at 7:30 PM
- Opening Night: Saturday, March 1 at 8:00 PM
- Pay-What-You-Choose: Monday, March 3 at 7:30 PM (walk-up tickets available starting one hour before the show)
- Talkbacks: Thursdays, March 6 and 13, following the 7:30 PM performances
- SipStudio: Saturday, March 8 (complimentary drinks and exclusive experiences for matinee and evening attendees)
- ASL Interpretation: Friday, March 14 at 7:30 PM