Photo via Chad Lowell
Bradley’s rendition of “Tiny Beautiful Things” provided the closure a typical advice blog fails to.
The 70-minute script adaptation by Nia Vardalos of Cheryl Strayed’s book “Wild” came to the Hartmann Center from Sept. 5-8.
The story follows a woman, played by senior theatre performance art major Samantha Macauley, stumbling into running an advice blog under the pseudonym Sugar. People write to her, revealing stories ranging from a woman mourning her miscarriage to a man considering dressing up as sexy Santa.
Despite the occasional joke, the script addresses difficult and taboo topics with strong language. Tissue boxes sat close by for attendees and actors, and audience members were encouraged to step out if need be.
“Coming to see this show is like the process of grief itself,” director Travis Stern said. “It hits us differently each time; it hits us differently each day.”
Everyone involved tried to connect emotionally to do the story justice. For actors, separating themselves from the script after a performance was a challenge. In their two weeks of production, mental health breaks were encouraged.
“We had, after every single rehearsal, a solid 30 minutes of emotional decompressing,” Lilah Kreis, the actor for Letter Writer One and a senior theatre performing arts major, said.
Despite the heavy subjects in “Tiny Beautiful Things,” the story had a positive message.
“It’s tough to heal. All this stuff is hard, but it will happen. You will make it,” Macauley said.
Although curtains are now closed for Bradley Theatre’s performance of “Tiny Beautiful Things,” the schedule of upcoming shows can be found on the Bradley website.
