Theatre Department to present new take on old morality play
Death will mingle with the likes of Love, Friendship, Understanding and Stuff when the Department of Theatre presents “Everybody,” opening at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 31, in the Black Box Theater in Robinson Hall. This contemporary play by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is based on the 15th century English morality play, “Everyman.”
Death comes for Everybody (and everybody), but Everybody is unprepared and requests time to find a companion for the journey to the unknown. While Jacobs-Jenkins’ language is contemporary, the lessons are eternal in the humorous but ultimately serious study of the meaning of life. And like life, the play revolves around chance; the actor playing Everybody changes for each performance based on the spin of a bingo globe.
“Everybody” was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2018. The New York Times has called Jacobs-Jenkins, winner of an Obie (Off-Broadway Theater) Award, “one of this country’s most original and illuminating writers.”
Performances continue through Nov. 3. Tickets are $18 for general audience members, $12 (UNC Charlotte faculty, staff and alumni), $10 (seniors, active military and veterans) and $8 (students). For details and tickets, visit arts.charlotte.edu.