Anyone Can Relate to ‘Everybody’

May 23, 2024Arts + Entertainment0

Photo by Ken Perez

The MHCC Theatre program has continued to blow me away, time after time. I have been an audience member for all the productions the program put on for the community this year. And I am very proud of the hard work and passion Zach Hartley brings out in my fellow students.

For Spring Term, the MHCC Theatre cast and crew has put together a production of “Everybody,” which was a finalist in the 2016 and 2018 Pulitzer Prize contest for drama.

Written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, the play is a modern adaptation of the 15th-century morality play, “Everyman,” one of the first recorded plays in the English language. And it does a great job of presenting complex and scary ideas in a simple and fun way.

This play features an interesting element – the element of randomness.

Each actor supposedly memorizes the whole script and at the beginning of every show, the roles of the performers are randomly chosen, giving each showing a unique and highly personal experience.

To me the show was a 90-minute introspective fun-gasm, reminding me both of my darkest fears in life and other things I could never bear to lose. The Mt. Hood performers delivered excellently some of the most beautiful lines of poetry I have ever heard. I repeatedly kept hearing myself think “Damn, that’s so real” or “True.”

One of the most fun aspects of this show is that all the characters are representing parts of life. “Everybody” is the protagonist, and throughout the show is visited by, well, everything in life – including family, friendship, love and even ‘stuff’ is a character. The protagonist is constantly trying to keep hold of these things but no matter what, things in life come and go.

And all this grounds you as an audience member, because the same way the protagonist reacts to having friendship and losing it is the way EVERYBODY (yes, we in the audience) reacts to losing friendship. So, while watching the show you can’t help but travel through life experiences that changed you in a fundamental way. And likely reminisce or perhaps cringe at how you coped with this change in your life.

I absolutely loved seeing all the actors do their thing onstage. They brought me giggles and sadness, all in approximately 90 minutes. I loved the main role protrayed by the awesome Jayce Jennings and how brave and powerful he played this role of “Everybody.” Their performance was so inspiring, I felt like I was watching someone glow on stage. I never felt like they were holding back, and I think they truly left it all out there and I thank them so much for such a stellar experience.

Thank you, MHCC Theatre, for presenting awesome culture and stellar performances for our whole community to take into our own lives.