In Neptune, New Jersey, a small beach town by the Jersey shore, there's a boy. He works in the beauty salon, chatting with the ladies about makeup and little black dresses. He always wears rainbow platform sneakers that he proudly made himself, by gluing the bottoms of multi-colored flip-flops onto a pair of Converse. He wears fairy wings for his drama school's production of The Tempest, and then sometimes keeps wearing them. His aunt tells him to "tone it down," his cousin thinks he's "totally weird," but that doesn't stop him. He's proud of who he is, and he isn't the least bit afraid to let you know that. His name is Leonard Pelkey. Or, it was; he was murdered.
If that sounds like a true story to you, or at least familiar, that may be because it's an all too common story. The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey (currently playing at the West End Theater in Hell's Kitchen) is written and performed by James Lecesne, who wrote the book it was based off of, Absolute Brightness. Mr. Lecesne, a very youthful 60, has long been a voice for LGBT youth; in 1995, he wrote the screenplay for Trevor, a short film that went on to win him an Academy Award. In 1998, Lecesne started The Trevor Project, "a nationwide suicide prevention and crisis intervention program for gay youth." Lecesne is no stranger to the kind of hardships that gay teens can face, and his performance proves it.
Mr. Lecesne plays eight or so different characters, all with connections to Leonard, starting with Detective Chuck DeSantis, the narrator of this story, and working our way down. We meet Leonard's Aunt Helen and cousin Phoebe, his theatre director, the women he's worked on at the salon, a local bully of his who likes to fish, and a clock restorer with a deeper connection to Leonard than he lets on, among other locals. Mr. Lecense shifts into and out of these characters like a professional chameleon, all by spinning around, or using a simple prop. It's the closest I've ever been to seeing Robin Williams on stage, and I hope Mr. Lecesne takes that as a high compliment.
Leonard himself is described by everyone DeSantis talks to as a marvel; a master Julie Andrews impersonator, a Maybelline expert, an exceptionally bright spot in their otherwise bleak lives. Even his tormentors can respect him for staying true to himself. And yet, this beacon of hope and love can't be fully realized until it is taken away.
While Brightness is a relatively upbeat play, it's also dark at times, and it makes you think. Leonard, especially, although you never get a chance to meet him, should raise some very important questions to think about on the ride home. Do you know a Leonard, and how do you treat him or her? Are you a Leonard yourself? Do you know how to help someone like Leonard? Answer these questions as honestly as you can, and if you don't like the answers, change them. The rate of suicide is higher in the LGBT community than anywhere else, but if you become a ray of hope, then you can change that. "Is there anything more unexpected in this world than a human being?" Detective DeSantis asks. You can be that unexpected change in someone's life. You can go to The Trevor Project's website to learn more.
The beauty of Off-Broadway shows, I think, is that, while you don't have a bigger budget to play with, you have more freedom with your subject matter. Broadway is kind of like the pop rock radio station compared to Off-Broadway's independent public radio.
After the performance, I was able to meet Mr. Lecesne and talk with him. We spoke about the show, going to college, my dream of being an actor. I made the Robin Williams comparison, and he said he thought about him while he was up there. He actually introduced me to the writer of Spring Awakenings, a very popular Broadway play. When he autographed my Playbill, he wrote, "To Derek - Be Bright!", and then he left, going on to make other people's lives a little brighter. As I walked from the theater back to my apartment, I realized that DeSantis was right; there's nothing more expected in this world than a human life. There's nothing more life-changing than finding someone unexpected to save you. Leonard understood that, and it's time we did too.
