ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Blackfriars Theatre is getting ready to welcome its latest production to the stage, “The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey.” The one-man show details the story of a 14-year-old boy who goes missing and how his town reacts to that news.
Show director Patricia Lewis Browne explains the mysterious tale highlights the change Leonard’s town faces and the effect he has on them after his disappearance.
“The actor who is the only actor in the show, Mark D’Amico, he’s a wonderful actor because he also has intense background in improvisation, which makes him ideal to play nine different characters and everything is done very simply. It’s done through a mark, basically changing his body, his attitude, voice to portray these nine people often in very quick succession. The wonderful thing about what the author has done with this is that Leonard himself never appears, and we see Leonard through the eyes of all the characters that this one actor creates. And it’s a fascinating way to tell the story,” Lewis Browne said.
This work has earned the theater a grant from the LGBT+ Giving Circle at the Rochester Area Community Foundation — something Blackfriars Theatre artistic director, Brynn Tyszka says she is very proud of obtaining.
“Of course with a show like Leonard Pelkey, that is told about a ‘flamboyant’ young man, an LGBTQ+ person — we thought, ‘what a perfect grant to apply for,’ and we were so thankful to get it. It just feels like the right mix and draws attention to the story that we’re trying to tell to involve that community and to try to bring that community into our theater,” Lewis Browne said.
Performances begin showing on February 2 and run through February 12. Ticket prices range from $33.50-$39.50 and can be purchased here.