Everybody (play)

Everybody is a play written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. It is a modern adaptation of the 15th-century morality play Everyman, one of the first recorded plays in the English language. The play premiered Off-Broadway at the Irene Diamond Stage at Signature Theatre Company on February 21, 2017 with previews beginning January 31, 2017 and a closing date of March 19, 2017.[1] The play features the unique casting quirk of using a lottery system to define the roles of the play. Each actor must memorize the entire script and be prepared to play any role. This is meant to symbolize the randomness of death. The original production was directed by Lila Neugebauer and featured an ensemble of nine performers.

Everybody
Written byBranden Jacobs-Jenkins
Date premieredFebruary 21, 2017
Place premieredOff-Broadway, Signature Theatre Company
Original languageEnglish
GenreMorality play

Plot

The story is kept largely the same as Everyman with a few exceptions. Fellowship, Kindred, Goods, Discretion, Five Wits, and Knowledge are renamed Friendship, Kinship, Stuff, Mind, Five Senses, and Understanding respectively. Additionally the scene where Everyman must whip himself for Confession is changed to a scene where they are instructed by the drill seargant-esque Love to strip naked and shout about existential dread. Also instead of Good Deeds following Everyman/Everybody to the grave, in this play that role is filled by Love. The story is also interspersed with pre-recorded voiceover scenes done fully in the dark, depicting four of Everybody's friends comforting them at their deathbed and through a misunderstanding eventually turns into a discussion on racism.

Cast and characters
Character Off-Broadway (2017)[2]
Everybody
Friendship
Kinship
Cousin
Stuff
Evil
Strength
Beauty
Senses
Mind		 Brooke Bloom
Michael Braun
Louis Cancelmi
David Patrick Kelly
Lakisha Michelle May
Death Marylouise Burke
Usher/God/Understanding Jocelyn Bioh
Love Chris Perfetti
Time Lilyana Tiare Cornell

Reception

Ben Brantley of The New York Times gave the show a lukewarm review, saying that the concept was interesting and it had value as an acting exercise, but claimed that the show was "saying what is essentially the same thing again and again and again" and that the pre-recorded sections felt like "unnecessary afterthoughts."[2] Marilyn Stasio of Variety said "Something is inevitably lost in adapting the material for a modern audience that has outgrown its fear and awe of hellfire and damnation. But the story retains some power on a human level, and Jacobs-Jenkins plays up the randomness of death and the universality of the human condition by casting most of the major roles in this show by lottery at each performance."[3]

Awards and Nominations

Original Off-Broadway production
Year Award Ceremony Category Nominee Result
2017 Lucille Lortel Awards[4] Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play Jocelyn Bioh Nominated
Drama League Awards[5] Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play Nominated
2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama Finalist
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References
  1. "Everybody". Broadway.com. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  2. Brantley, Ben (February 21, 2017). "Review: In 'Everybody,' Mortality Loves Company". The New York Times. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  3. Stasio, Marilyn (February 21, 2017). "Off Broadway Review: 'Everybody' by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins". Variety. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  4. Playbill Staff (May 7, 2017). Playbill https://www.playbill.com/article/2017-lucille-lortel-awards-presented-may-7. Retrieved April 7, 2020. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. "Drama League Awards 2017: And the Winners are..." Newyorktheatreguide.com. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
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