By James V. Ruocco
With "The Brightest Thing in the World" - now enjoying its world premiere as Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven - playwright Lean Nanako Winkler wanted to bring a different lens and focus to her complicated, involving narrative about people struggling with drug addiction, substance abuse, free expression and emotional disorder.
As storyteller, she also wanted to create an in-the-moment theatrical piece about a modern-day romance - in this case, two women who refuse to be labeled as gay, straight, lesbian or whatever - that would not only speak volumes, both dramatically and comically, but give her fictional play a strong sense of realism, truth, argument and authenticity.
Set against the backdrop of Lexington, Kentucky, circa 2016-2019, the play begins with a chance meeting in a local bakery named Revival between Lane (a free spirit of sorts) and Steph (smart but somewhat reserved), two very different, very interesting thirtysomethings. Using a scene reset at the start of the play (think "Constellations") for about five or six minutes, a friendship quickly turns into a romance with lots of romcom silliness, playful verbiage, giddy miscommunication, goofy double takes, embarrassed longings and Hallmark Channel wholesomeness.
But alas, all of that is about to change.
As the story evolves, the play picks up steam with conflicts, revelations, truths, tragedy and anguish that Winkler paints with excited flourish, determination and compassion. She also introduces a third character named Della, who happens to be the older sister of Lane. She too comes to "The Brightest Thing in the World' with her own set of issues, problems, quirks and romantic entanglements.
As a new work - Yale Rep's first world premiere since 2019 - "The Brightest Thing in the World" is welcoming, sincere, tricky, romantic, upfront and melodramatic. It is also very talky - big with issues, big with same-sex intermingling, big with choices, big with feelings, big with arguments and big with stings, curves, twists and punches. It also finds a fair amount of absurdity in the darkness that Winkler creates halfway through the story. But luckily, Winkler keeps her play becoming too preachy and too judgmental. If it was, the time invested in her three pivotal characters wouldn't matter much and sadly, no one would care about the outcome to the piece, which, blueprint aside, brims with good faith.
The real question here: Does, the play work?
For the most part, it does.
There's surprise.
There's invention.
There's individuality.
There's awkwardness.
There's also a crazily orchestrated pop song and wild dance sequence that springs out of nowhere.
But it's so much fun, it's pretty much "a given" in terms of acceptance and carefree abandonment.
Margot Bordelon, a New York-based director whose specializes in mounting new works, comes to Yale Rep with an impressive list of directorial credits from regional theaters across America including Playwrights Horizons, Cherry Lane, Berkeley Rep, Primary Stages, the David Geffen School of Drama, The Public and the Roundabout Theatre Company. Here, she grabs hold of Winkler's play text and shakes it up using definitive beats, rhythms, pauses and skips that give "The Brightest Thing in the World" a strong sense of identity, definition, thrust and animation.
She also paints an interesting, embodied picture of lesbian life that translates universally regardless of one's life choices, beliefs and sexuality. On that note, Bordelon creates a pleasurable buzz or hook up, if you prefer, that is paced and readied with connection, spark captivation and attraction.
Still, there are problems. And Bordelon, makes a couple of obvious mistakes.
A scene, tossed in for humorous effect, has Della moving quickly to the door of her home with an ax that reminds one of Jack Torrance, Jack Nicholson's character from the 1980 film version of "The Shining." But since the action that follows happens completely off stage, it produces unnecessary giggles that knock the play off balance for a moment or two. It's also out of context with the rest of the story and doesn't exactly quite work. PS: A rewrite is strongly suggested.
Another key scene, in which Lane is found lying on Della's floor, clinging to life after taking heroin, is effective to a degree. But, at times, it is slightly over the top to be taken seriously. It also gets everyone in the audience thinking that Lane will probably die, which, of course she does, during the final ten minutes of the play. No surprise, there.
"The Brightest Thing in the World" stars Katherine Romans as Lane, Michele Selene Ang as Steph and Megan Hill as Della. In true ensemble fashion, each actress shares her character's story, her character's history and her character's experience both dramatically and comically (depending on the scene at hand) with focus, spill, personality, instinctiveness and vulnerability. Acting wise, they smartly come together as one, in pairs or as a trio, giving voice to both the ongoing narrative and their particular role in Winkler's story.
Even when there are bumps and hiccups in the script, they work overtime to bring validation to the play's odd shifts in mood and tone, dialogue that misfires and pointed confrontations, outbursts and arguments that demand just a little more depth and command.
That said, "The Brightest Light in the World" endures, excites and radiates.
In spite of its flaws, it remains a touching, thoughtful and quirky serio-comic work about lesbianism, addiction, death and struggle.
It disturbs.
It excites.
It allows one to laugh, shed a tear, get angry, shake their head and feel a sense of pride and compassion for the play's three central characters.
It is arguably an important work for Yale Rep and one that should invite welcomed opinion, criticism and conversation - pro and con - after the final fadeout.
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