Theater Review: 'The Brightest Thing in the World' at Yale Rep

The world premiere of Leah Nanako Winkler's play, “The Brightest Thing in the World,” is running at the Yale Repertory Theatre, located at 1120 Chapel Street in New Haven.

The play was commissioned by Yale Rep with support from Yale’s Binger Center for New Theatre. This is the first play to reach the Yale Rep stage that was substantially developed during the pandemic. Winkler is a Japanese American playwright from Kamakura, Japan and Lexington, Kentucky who noticed a decade ago that too many people in Lexington were affected by the opioid epidemic.

The playwright notes that she strives to create underestimated characters “who subvert and exceed expectations,” so this play includes a “threesome of smart Kentucky women who are more complex, funny, interesting, mainstream, whip-smart than expected.”

The story begins in a delightful romantic comedy fashion, but it soon is apparent that there is much more to be revealed. “The play finds love and light in unexpected places and celebrates our inherently messy and beautiful humanity,” writes Artistic Director James Bundy. For this is ultimately a story of three women whose lives are dramatically impacted by the disease of addiction. I enjoyed the wry humor in the script, and appreciated the heartbreaking story of an addicted person that is not the typical awards-bait portrayal of an “addict” we have often seen.

The new play is directed by Margot Bordelon with a good eye for how to reveal the surprises in the script. The rom-com section of the story leaves the identity of the addict somewhat vague, at least to me. So when one of the characters learns the truth, I was as surprised as she was. There are plenty of comedic elements to balance the drama and the actors perform so well that the characters live up to the playwright’s vision. Most of the action is presented in a straightforward manner, but there is a more artistic scene before the curtain call.

The playwright sets the story in Lexington during the years of 2016-2019. The program notes that Lexington is “a large urban liberal city in a state often characterized as rural and conservative (and it) has one of the state’s friendliest climates for LGBTQIA+ folks.”

The scenic design by Cat Raynor, a fourth-year M.F.A. candidate in set design at Yale, transforms uniquely from a cafe that specializes in coffee and artisanal baked goods into a living room decorated for Christmas. Costume design by Travis Chinick matches the three characters well, with wig design by Matthew Armentrout. Lighting design by fourth-year student Graham Zellers. Sound design by Emily Duncan Wilson fleshed out the transitions.

Katherine Romans plays the role of Lane, one half of the “meet cute” in the bakery. Romans, a member of Actors Equity, makes her Yale Rep debut in this role and has been seen on HBO in “The Gilded Age.”

Megan Hill portrays Della, the older sister of Lane. Equity member Hill is a Brooklyn-based actor who specializes in new work and has originated many roles in world premieres.

Michele Selene Ang plays the role of Steph. Ang, a member of Actors’ Equity, is a Chinese American actor, writer and filmmaker with Indonesian roots who makes her Yale Rep debut. She appeared on Netflix in “13 Reasons Why.”

Thankfully, Yale Rep continues to publish and distribute programs at the theater. The content advisory warns that there is frank content related to and depictions of the disease of addiction and recovery and the dialogue contains profanity, sexual situations and sexual innuendo.

The play runs one hour and forty minutes and is presented without an intermission. Masks must be worn at all times inside the theater, except when eating or drinking.

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. She recently became a contributor to the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper. Her weekly column and theatre reviews appear in the Thursday Weekend section of the paper.

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