NOV 21, 2024 | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT| By Margaret Freeman
While trying to escape the increasingly daunting task of doing my homework during third week of Block 3, I decided to go see the Colorado College Theatre Mainstage Production class’s performance of “Everybody” by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and directed by Caitlin Lowans. Having no previous insight into what the show was about, I walked in thoroughly unprepared for the intense 90-minute performance I was about to witness.
The show’s structure was one of the most interesting aspects of it. All of the primary actors knew all the parts, and after a melodically written prologue performed by the “usher,” all the actors pulled cards for who they would be playing that night. All the characters were stripped down to the most basic framework of themselves. The main character Everybody interacted with other characters including Stuff, Friendship, Kin and Cousin on a quest to find a companion to die with them after being visited by Death. The vague nature of every character was especially influential in the play’s message, as the generalizations allowed for the commentary on aspects of human life to apply to anyone. This, along with the play’s enchanting acting, dynamic staging and engaging technical designs had me walking out of the theater deep in thought. On the snowy trudge back to my dorm, I thought about life, love, and overwhelmingly, death.
The specific, albeit brief, message of “What if the best part of our life has already passed” gave me an immediate lens back to my childhood. I looked back on all the people I have met and will probably never see again, all the greatest moments of joy in my life and all the things I have accomplished. While I do not think the best is behind me, the main character’s existential crisis forced me to reckon with many similar feelings of the evanescence of life.
The play’s main focus was on who to take with you when you are dying and how love is really the only thing that will never leave. The main character struggled to find someone to join them as they died. Although The Senses, Knowledge, Beauty and Understanding all left Everybody, Love joined them in the descent to Death, physically represented by a sub-stage staircase.
As I sat in what seemed like infinite darkness that filled the theater between scenes with a pre-recorded conversation playing overhead, I thought about who I would take with me if I were dying and put in the same position Everybody was. I hope she won’t mind me saying this, but it would have to be my best friend. If death came knocking on my door tomorrow (which for the sake of my Thanksgiving plans, let’s hope it doesn’t) she would be my first call. Just as Love stuck with Everybody through the loss of so many other attributes, she has stuck with me through thick and thin, laughing fits and tears, adventure and misfortune. Although I immediately knew who I would take if I were in Everybody’s position, the thought of this was something that had never crossed my mind until seeing this show.
Now, I know you can’t actually choose someone to join you when you die but the through line of the concept was one I had never seen before. It allowed for an incredibly symbolic performance where every character, costume and action created a deeper level of personal connection, all interspersed with darkness to force the audience to apply it to their own lives.
While I cannot find the words to properly and fully describe the show to you, let me just say that when I walked out of that theater, I was left with an emptiness inside myself. It was the good kind of emptiness that only comes from witnessing such strong emotion, and can only be filled by wrestling with your own thoughts for some time. I was so deeply impacted by the blunt portrayal of the most important aspects of human life. While the script itself was excellent, the technical aspects of the performance including the use of darkness and emotional acting only added to a beautiful performance. It is no lie when I tell you I was brought to tears.