Words of Wisdom in SRT’s Spectacular ‘Tiny Beautiful Things’

When a show causes many to reach for their Kleenex less than 30 minutes after the opening scene, that is typically a sign of a strong production. Scripps Ranch Theatre’s spectacular mounting of Tiny Beautiful Things has several tearjerker scenes throughout the performance. This is because of the emotional honesty displayed in Nia Vardalos’ adaptation of Cheryl Strayed’s book.

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.

Kaneshiro anchors the evening with a mix of candidness and warmth. She is given the lion’s share of dialogue, and the star powerfully expresses various emotions during Sugar’s answers to letter writers.

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.