Words of Wisdom in SRT’s Spectacular ‘Tiny Beautiful Things’
Jyl Kaneshiro (photos courtesy of Daren Scott).
The script is based on Strayed’s time as the formerly anonymous writer of a column, Dear Sugar, in the online magazine, The Rumpus. Sugar (Jyl Kaneshiro) shares responses to situations ranging from love and sex to flawed family relationships. She occasionally uses her own personal experiences in her responses to others.
There is a mix of frank and sensitive writing that allows the text from Vardalos and Strayed to stick with the audience. The writing often shifts from funny vignettes to ones that are tragic, and sometimes disturbing.
Director, Kym Pappas, memorably captures the changing tone of the piece, which leads to numerous highlights over the course of about 70 minutes. She utilizes Dixon Fish’s modern-influenced set to intelligently place the performers on the stage, which makes the written communication surprisingly lively.
In addition to Pappas and Fish’s work, Mitchell Simkovsky’s lighting heightens emotions with his use of both light and darkness in the rendition.
Lisette Velandia and Jyl Kaneshiro.
Max Macke, Michelle Marie Trester, and Lisette Velandia portray the various people that write to Sugar. All three actors are hilarious in certain sequences and devastating in others. It is a testament to Kaneshiro and the ensemble actors that they give multilayered performances that inspire laughs and tears.
As dark as the letters can be, Sugar’s words typically are full of optimism and hope for the writers. Because of her caring personality, the end is impactful and left me still reaching for my tissues as I was leaving the theatre. Speaking of tissues, ushers offer free packets, which are definitely worth taking for the staging.
SRT’s version of Tiny Beautiful Things is a deeply empathetic one that should resonate with theatregoers. Pappas has crafted a memorable interpretation of a touching play.
Show times are Fridays at 7:30 p.m, Saturdays at 7:30 p.m, and Sundays at 2:00 p.m.
A fan of theatre from a young age, David Dixon began writing reviews while in middle school, for Union Tribune’s Rated G column and sdcnn.com. He was the Entertainment Editor for SDSU’s The Daily Aztec. Currently, he contributes to San Diego Community News Network, a regional reviewer for Talkin’ Broadway, an interviewer for San Diego Theatre Reviews and has won several San Diego Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards. David is a San Diego Theatre Critics Circle member, an American Theatre Critics Association member & Regional Theatre Tony Award voter.