BY KAREN BOSSICK
What do you get when men and women pour out their hearts to an anonymous online advice columnist named Sugar?
“A handkerchief-soaking meditation on pain, loss, hope and forgiveness,” according to the New York Times.
Company of Fools will present two free staged play readings of Cheryl Strayed’s “Tiny Beautiful Things” tonight and Sunday at The Liberty Theatre in Hailey.
The first will be held at 7 p.m. tonight—Saturday, Feb. 1. The second, at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2.
It will feature K.O. Ogilvie, who normally works behind the scenes as the Fools’ stage manager, as Sugar. Directed by Andrew Alburger, it will also feature letter writers Chris Carwithen, Melody Taylor-Mauldin and Russell Wilson.
The play was written by Cheryl Strayed, author of “Wild.” She spoke Friday night at a sold-out lecture for the Sun Valley Museum of Art.
The play Nas adapted for stage by Academy Award nominee and Second City alumna Nia Vardalos. She wrote the film “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” which received Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations, as well as “Connie and Carla.” Her film and TV acting credits include “My Life in Ruins” and “Jane the Virgin.”
The play is said to weave together real letters written to Sugar, later revealed to be author Strayed, to explore the unfathomable dark and glimmering light that are at the heart of being human. Tissues are recommended.
Company of Fools Artistic Director Scott Palmer said the play dovetails with themes of importance to the Transcendentalism, which is in focus as part of the Museum’s current BIG IDEA project, “The Bottomlessness of a Pond: Transcendentalism, Nature and Spirit.”
“Self-reliance, forgiveness, essential human connection and respect for the sacred are all a part of this play,” he said.
While the reading is free, donations will not be turned away.