Based on the book by Cheryl Strayed. Adapted for the stage by Nia Vardalos.
Finding hope by asking and answering the hardest questions
A celebration of the simple beauty of being human, this funny, deeply touching, and uplifting play is an exploration of resilience, based on Cheryl Strayed’s journey as the beloved anonymous advice columnist for “Dear Sugar.” Over the years, thousands of people turned to “Sugar” for words of wisdom, compassion, and hope. Reluctant to claim that she has all the answers, Sugar looks to her own past and draws on her life experiences to bring light, laughter, and humanity to others.
It is so good to be back at Trinity Rep. The 2021-22 season has finally begun in earnest and it has started with a huge, reverberating BANG!!! And I can't wait for the remaining three shows in this truncated season.
I am torn. I can't decide how I feel about this play. For sure, sitting through Tiny Beautiful Things is being put through an emotional wringer. There is no intermission, no time to take a breath. Nothing is taboo, rape, abuse, pedophilia, death; whatever problems her readers send her, Sugar tackles them with love and compassion and the message that we are resilient. It is exhausting but, in a way, it is also uplifting.
Nonetheless, I had some problems with the vehicle. About halfway though I found myself asking, "Where is this going? How is this going to end?" How many times can we go through the same 'read the letter, give her answer' cycle? I'm getting bored. The message hasn't changed. There is no arc to this story. She keeps upping the ante and I keep wondering just how many more hard luck stories can one person have to share with her audience before we all start wonder how much of this Sugar is making up for her readers. And it still isn't going anywhere. The self-help lesson was emotionally moving but the little bit of plot, "Who are you really? What's your name and why won't you tell us who you are?" was not a strong enough to carry the play.
On the other hand, the acting was superb, as usual. It is one of the things that keep us coming back to Trinity year after year. We might not be enamored of the vehicle but the staging is never bad. Angela was superb as Sugar. Brian, Phyllis and Stephen, three veteran members of the resident company, were absolute chameleons as they moved from one letter writer to the next without regard to age or gender of the character.
Next show: August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean.
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