Photo Courtesy of Hofstra University
After over a year of Zoom performances and outdoor events, Hofstra drama students have finally returned to the Joan and Donald Schaeffer Black Box Theater to perform in their first production of the year, “Everybody.” Though adapted from a play written by monks in the 15th century, its Gen Z-esque existential humor and unique details made it a fresh, timely and thought-provoking production.
Unlike many traditional theater productions, the show immediately broke the fourth wall at the start of the show, during which the Usher (played by Anna Lettera) gave an opening monologue directly to the audience. It ranged in topic from asking playgoers to silence their cell phones to speculating about what happens after death. Lettera’s maniacal delivery set the tone for the quirkiness to come.
As “Everybody” continued, the Usher was reintroduced as God. Then, Death (played by Avery Rudd) appeared and summoned five cast members who had been sitting in the audience to the stage. Each of these people played the role of Somebody, and they all became frantic after learning that they had died. They did not feel ready to embark on the journey that Death wanted to take them on and begged to be allowed to return to Earth to convince someone to come with them. Death begrudgingly agreed.
The Usher/God’s direct conversation with the audience resumed when she explained that the roles the cast members would play were chosen on stage through a lottery. Behind her, the five Somebodies each chose a piece of paper containing their cast assignment. As a result, the actors would portray a different role during each performance. On opening night, the main role of Everybody was assigned to Joey Perman.
Suddenly, the set shifted, and Everybody was sitting on the ground surrounded by the four Somebodies. Everybody described a dream that they had just woken up from which involved dying and being told that they must leave everything they have known behind to go with Death. The Somebodies seemed skeptical. Abruptly they exited the stage, leaving Everybody alone.
The ensuing scenes saw Everybody moving between asking those in their life to come with them in Death and reverting to the slumber party death bed arrangement to discuss their “dream.” Everybody met with Friendship (Lizzy Tauro), Kinship (Diante Ferguson), Cousin (Ash Boone) and Stuff (Andrew Dutile). Conversations with each of the characters proved to Everybody that they could not bring anyone or anything with them in death, and even more damning, no one wanted to accompany them on this journey.
Feeling hopeless, Everybody finally meets Love (Earl Rice Jr.), who comes into the theater from the main entrance as opposed to entering from backstage. Everybody is vulnerable in their interaction with Love, stripping down to only underwear and running in circles, loudly proclaiming their insignificance as a being. Love is the only one who agrees to accompany Everybody in death, and he removes his clothes as a sign of solidarity.
In a manner reminiscent of Dorothy from “The Wizard of Oz” when she accepts that she can only go home through her own power, Everybody accepts that they will have to go alone, save for Love. Together they walk onto the path of death.
The play’s exploration of life and death ultimately finds that love is perhaps the only thing that will accompany a person when they die. Therefore, in life, it is necessary to focus less of our attention on material objects and frivolous relationships, as we cannot bring them with us.
The main strength of “Everybody” is its universality – none of the characters are explicitly assigned a gender or race; they could be any of us and they represent all of us. The simplicity of the set and costume choices further adds to the relatability of Everybody’s predicament. Everybody’s realistic portrayal of the emotional rollercoaster of fear, hope, devastation, pain and peace that we all feel in the face of death reminded the audience that none of us really know our true fate.
In addition to the strong acting, the show’s lighting and sound design were a perfect complement to its subject matter. The frantic anxiety that many feel when thinking about their imminent demise was reflected in the frequent flashing lights, loud noises and haphazard imagery and writing which appeared on the main wall at the back of the stage.
Ultimately, the cast and crew of “Everybody” hit the mark for a simultaneously haunting and comforting production about life, death and how it all shakes out.
