Category: Goodman Mainstage Hall

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Every Brilliant Thing Enthralls With Insights, Hope, And Sharing

This is a very intimate play…featuring one actor as storyteller who engages the audience in the telling. And the Goodman Mainstage at the Milwaukee Youth Art Center is the ideal intimate venue for the telling of this tale. We all become family here.

Yes, we only have one actor/character on stage. The character does not have a name and begins their story with a monologue that explains what the term Every Brilliant Thing means and where it originated. And at this point it is important to mention that this is a play about mental illness and suicide. And our actor is a youngster when we first meet and we get to share their growth and awareness and thoughts through a decade or better. And at first Every Brilliant Thing is a list to help their mother heal…a simple list of Brilliant Things! But eventually it becomes a coping mechanism as our actor struggles through their life as well…and obviously suffers from a reluctantly acknowledged mental health issue of their own.

Elyse Edelman. Photographer: Ross Zentner. Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre.

Director Molly Rhode as taken a risk here…and instead of casting a single actor for entire run…Rhode has cast Milwaukee favorites James Carrington and Elyse Edelman on alternating evenings. Which opens up a new question that I hadn’t considered before…what effect on the story will gender have? Will a female character seem more sympathetic? Will a male character be perceived as weak? ??? Edelman held the floor when I attended on Sunday March 2 and just mesmerized the audience. She is a grand story teller!

James Carrington. Photographer Ross Zentner. Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre.

But even without the dual casting this story will evolve differently at each performance. There are roles for the audience to play, as the actor selects audience members to play a vet, school counselor, and father. So bring your best actor voice and face when you attend. Depending on the actor and the audience member selected, the story will deviate from performance to performance and there will be a fair amount of ad lib activity on everyone’s part.

Elyse Edelman. Photographer: Ross Zentner.. Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre.

But there’s more: There’s the actual Every Brilliant Thing List! When a new audience member found her seat next to me, I exclaimed, what great seats! And she replied, yes they are as long as I don’t have to be in the play…at which point Edelman came over and recruited my neighbor to participate…simply reading a line when her number was called: “Really Good Oranges!” There is some fun when a volunteer has forgotten their number and fails to respond on the first cue.

James Carrington and audience member. Photographer: Ross Zentner.. Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre.

Yes, the topic is mental health and some sad life events. So there are moments of feeling choked up with tight throats and teary eyes. But there is an incredible amount of hope and happiness here and laughter that make this play feel full circle and complete…despite the unusual format.

I’d appreciate hearing from any of you who experienced James Carrington in this role. I have seen him in a number of other plays and I am sure he nails this!

Every Brilliant Thing continues at the Goodman Mainstage Hall at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center (just north of the Deer District in the old Schlitz Brewery area) through March 16, 2025. Run time: approximately 75 minutes, no intermission​

Additional information and tickets available here. If you have druthers on whether you see Elyse Edelman or James Carrington, the dates of their performances are listed.

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PSA: Next At Milwaukee Chamber Theatre: Every Brilliant Thing

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

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PSA: First Stage Urges You To Travel Back In Time With “The Dinosaur Play”!

From our friends at First Stage (this one looks like a lot of fun):

TRAVEL BACK IN TIME FOR A PREHISTORIC ADVENTURE WITH FIRST STAGE! 

Hatch a dinosaur egg, befriend a Triceratops and face thrilling challenges in this interactive theatrical experience for young explorers and their families. 

MILWAUKEE — First Stage — one of the nation’s leading theaters for young people and families — invites all explorers to embark on a thrilling journey back to when dinosaurs roamed the Earth in THE DINOSAUR PLAY! As an audience member, you’ll be called upon to help a dinosaur egg tapping out a call for help, befriend a surly Triceratops, protect a newly formed dinosaur family, take on a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and so much more!

THE DINOSAUR PLAY runs Jan. 18 through Feb. 16, 2025, at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center’s Goodman Mainstage Hall. Tickets are available now on FirstStage.org.

“We invite our youngest audiences and their families to travel back in time for The Dinosaur Play,” said Jeff Frank, Artistic Director at First Stage. “In this participatory play, audiences in the intimate Goodman Mainstage Hall will be asked to help two hapless humans trying to come to the aid of a giant egg. Humor, danger, heart and adventure – this play has something for everyone.”

Widely celebrated for its ability to engage and inspire audiences, THE DINOSAUR PLAY ignites a love of science and natural history. In addition to its educational value, the play fosters social-emotional learning with themes of cooperation, empathy, and teamwork – making it an unforgettable experience for all.

Audiences are invited to arrive early for engaging pre-show educational activities designed to immerse them in the experience and prepare them for their journey into the past!

The show runs approximately 45-50 minutes, with no intermission. Recommended for families with young people ages 3-9 and theater lovers of all ages. 

This production’s Pay What You Choose Performance is on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 3:30 p.m. the Sensory Friendly Performance is on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 3:30 p.m., and the Sign Language Interpreted Performance is on Sunday, February 9 at 1:00 p.m.