Death will mingle with the likes of Love, Friendship, Understanding and Stuff when the Department of Theatre presents “Everybody,” opening at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 31, in the Black Box Theater in Robinson Hall. This contemporary play by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is based on the 15th century English morality play, “Everyman.”
Death comes for Everybody (and everybody), but Everybody is unprepared and requests time to find a companion for the journey to the unknown. While Jacobs-Jenkins’ language is contemporary, the lessons are eternal in the humorous but ultimately serious study of the meaning of life. And like life, the play revolves around chance; the actor playing Everybody changes for each performance based on the spin of a bingo globe.
“Everybody” was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2018. The New York Times has called Jacobs-Jenkins, winner of an Obie (Off-Broadway Theater) Award, “one of this country’s most original and illuminating writers.”
Performances continue through Nov. 3. Tickets are $18 for general audience members, $12 (UNC Charlotte faculty, staff and alumni), $10 (seniors, active military and veterans) and $8 (students). For details and tickets, visit arts.uncc.edu.