Sedona News – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Sedona debut of the powerful, life-affirming and uplifting “Every Brilliant Thing” — a live theatrical production starring Michael Doherty — on Saturday and Sunday, April 29 and 30 at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre, sponsored by Health First Foundation Northern Arizona.
“Every Brilliant Thing” — by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe — is an award-winning, one-person play that The Guardian calls “heart-wrenching and hilarious … one of the funniest plays you’ll ever see about depression — and possibly one of the funniest plays you’ll ever see!”
Could you name a hundred things that make life wonderful? A thousand? How about a million?
When Mom’s in the hospital, and Dad says she’s ‘done something stupid’, there’s not much a seven-year-old can do. So, he starts a list — a list of brilliant things to live for in an attempt to save his mother.
As he grows up, the list takes on a life of its own. From “Ice Cream” (#1 on the list) to “Water fights” (#2 on the list) to “Staying up all night talking” (#9,999), “Every Brilliant Thing” shines a hilarious and compassionate light on dark corners of the human condition.
The play pulls back the curtain on what it’s like to be a child of someone struggling with depression, and the lengths we go for those we love.
Based on true and untrue stories, “Every Brilliant Thing” — told in collaboration with the audience — is the moving, hilarious, and life-affirming tale of how we can achieve hope by focusing on the smallest miracles of life.
Michael Doherty — an east coast-based actor, writer, and comedian — stars in “Every Brilliant Thing”. He has spent five seasons at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, playing roles including Fanny Babbs in Charley’s Aunt, Charlie in The Foreigner, the Narrator in Every Brilliant Thing, and Mr. Green in Clue. Off-Broadway: 59E59 Theaters. Regional: Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Cleveland Play House, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Connecticut Repertory Theatre, Wilma Theater, Gulfshore Playhouse, and more. Doherty has been awarded the Barrymore Award for Supporting Actor in a Musical and the Theatre Bay Area Award for Leading Performance in a Play.
After the two public performances of “Every Brilliant Thing” at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on April 28 and 29, the Sedona International Film Festival is taking the play to all four area high schools — Sedona Red Rock, Verde Valley School, Mingus and Camp Verde — to do free performances for the students for Mental Health Awareness Month in May.
The performances of “Every Brilliant Thing” are made possible by the generous support of Health First Foundation Northern Arizona (title sponsor) with additional support from Arizona Community Foundation of Sedona, Goldenstein Gallery and Bruce and Janet Misamore (hospitality sponsors).
“Every Brilliant Thing” will take the stage at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre on Saturday, April 29 at 4 p.m. and Sunday, April 30 at 4 p.m. Tickets are $20.
Health First Foundation will host a reception with light refreshments after each show. Learn more about the foundation’s work with Mental Health First Aid in our region.
For tickets and more information, please call 928-282-1177. Both the theatre and film festival office are located at 2030 W. Hwy. 89A, in West Sedona. For more information, visit: www.SedonaFilmFestival.org.
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