Searching for the brilliant things

Start with ‘Every Brilliant Thing’ at the Delaware Valley Opera

By ANNEMARIE SCHUTZ
Posted 11/2/22

LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — “It’s the most upbeat play you’ll ever see about depression,” said Christopher Peditto.

He heads up the River Rep Arts Center and its year-round repertory project, …

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Searching for the brilliant things

Start with ‘Every Brilliant Thing’ at the Delaware Valley Opera

Posted

LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — “It’s the most upbeat play you’ll ever see about depression,” said Christopher Peditto.

He heads up the River Rep Arts Center and its year-round repertory project, River Rep Theatre, and he was talking about the theatre’s latest production, “Every Brilliant Thing.”

The play, which is about a mother’s struggle for sanity and the power of joy, will be performed at the Delaware Valley Opera (DVO), at 6692 Rte. 52, from Friday, November 4 through Sunday, November 6.

It stars Donna Jean Fogel in the one-character show, and is directed by Arthur Aulisi and produced by Peditto.

“Every Brilliant Thing” is about a daughter who creates a list of wonderful things, hoping to keep her deeply depressed mother alive. As the daughter grows and changes, so does the list, but it always celebrates the reasons for life.

The subtext acknowledges that sometimes people hurt so badly, they need reminding.

“[The play] tackles a very serious subject with an enormous amount of humor and joy,” said Peditto.

Why this play? “We all need to have compassion,” he said. “Let’s take the stigma off the subject. Mental illness is taboo… [but] the play gives you hope and it lights a light.” (For more information, see sidebar at right.)

The play and the community it embraces

The production at the DVO is a challenge for Fogel as the sole character, and for the director too.

“I’m primarily an actor, so for me directing is usually about getting the most out of the actors with whom I’m working,” wrote Aulisi in an email. “It’s meant to be rather bare-bones technically. It’s really about the performance. And I’ve been gifted with an extremely talented performer in [Fogel]. The play asks a lot of the actor or actress. I said something to her in rehearsal the other night along the lines of ‘you’ll need to do some emotional acrobatics here.’ And, of course, she was able to do so.”

Community matters in this production. Life is lived in community, and sometimes bringing people into your pain can ease it.

Involving the audience in “Every Brilliant Thing” also reminds us that the issues the play addresses “are universal,” Peditto said. “Anyone whose life has been touched by mental illness will connect.”

Bringing the audience into the story adds both a layer of complexity and a layer of wonder. “At times, [the audience is] enlisted to help tell the story,” Aulisi wrote. “That’s a huge unknown. It’s scary. It’s also pretty exciting. One challenge of any rehearsed play is creating the illusion that it’s all happening for the first time… that night… in front of that audience. Well, there’s no need to create that illusion with this piece. A lot of it will be happening for the first time… that night… in front of that audience.”

The road to River Rep

Peditto moved here two years ago, to be closer to his family; his mom has lived here since the early 1980s. “I love the area,” he said.

From a “really hardcore theatre background,” he is a New Yorker who started in Chicago, and worked in central and eastern Europe, including teaching Montessori classes. “I had an amazing time there,” he said. “I did a lot of experimental work.”

This was followed by a move to Los Angeles—more acting and directing. Then back to New York, “the downtown theatre scene.”

What’s he doing here, now that he’s in Sullivan County? “I bring all those passions” to bear on River Rep, he said.

The arts center Peditto helms offers musical theatre and acting for teens at the Homestead School in Glen Spey and the Studio on Main Street in Hurleyville. Peditto is hoping to coordinate with public schools and share the art of the theatre with other kids.

And then there are planned performances. River Rep showcases “really fine established playwrights and develops new work,” he said. “We’ll present it at Lake Huntington… readings at the Nutshell and on the main stage.” The company has already performed “Carnage” at the Rock Valley Schoolhouse.

At the moment, with “Every Brilliant Thing” about to open, the play is the focus, “taking the lead role,” he said.

The production started in the U.K., then opened on Broadway. “We’re excited to bring it here… It’s a soulful show.”

“I want the audience to leave hopeful,” wrote Aulisi. “It is, in part, a hopeful story (even, dare I say, a comedy) about suicide and depression. I think most people have been touched by suicide or depression or manic/depression.”

But, he continued, “it’s also the story of a gift, giving back. Our protagonist starts a list of every brilliant thing as a gift to her mother. Ultimately, the list saves her.”

“Every Brilliant Thing” will be performed at the Delaware Valley Opera on Friday, November 4 and Saturday, November 5 at 7 p.m., and Sunday, November 6 at 2 p.m.

Tickets cost $30. For more information, visit www.riverrep.org/river-rep.

River Rep Arts Center, River Rep Theatre, Every Brilliant Thing

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