The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey

De: Celeste Lecesne

Narrado por: Celeste Lecesne

Writer of the Academy award-winning short Trevor, founder of The Trevor Project (a 24-hour nationwide crisis hotline for LGBTQIA+ youth), and stage and screen actor, Celeste Lecesne performs their hit off-Broadway play, The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey. This live performance of a powerful police procedural comes to life through the artistry of Celeste Lecesne and is accompanied by the original music of Duncan Sheik. Celeste portrays every character in a small Jersey Shore town as they unravel the story of Leonard Pelkey, a tenaciously optimistic and flamboyant 14-year-old boy who has gone missing. A luminous force of nature whose magic is only truly felt once he is gone, Leonard becomes an unexpected inspiration as the town’s citizens question how they live, who they love, and what they leave behind.

Brash detective Chuck DeSantis seeks out answers as to why Leonard is missing. Along the way, questions about the teen’s sexuality force members of the community to confront their own biases and beliefs. This poetic piece of audio leads listeners down an important path towards understanding and acceptance. The entire town changes forever because of Leonard Pelkey—a character originally from Celeste Lecesne’s young adult book Absolute Brightness that inspired the play. This whodunit brims with humor and heart and delivers a deeply important message about love, prejudice, and being yourself.

The New York Times raved that The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey "...leave[s] you beaming with joy...a superlative solo show...Lecesne is a writer of wit and keen observational skills, who here unfolds a dark tale that shimmers with the needling suspense you associate with the best police procedurals."

Written and performed by Celeste Lecesne

Sound design by Christian Frederickson

Original music by Duncan Sheik

Note: The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey contains adult language.

©2019 Celeste Lecesne (P)2019 AO Media LLC

So relevant.

Exceptional performance. A story with much to consider and ponder. Why is different a bad thing? Isn't that where we often find better?

What a gift to the world!

Bless James for bringing this rich, powerful, funny and human story of dear Leonard. Each time I have seen the play and now listen in, I feel expanded, clearer and widened out.

A lesson learned

An amazing story of how a young flamboyant boy changed a town. The story is the same for many of us at that age. I personally wasn’t that flamboyant but knew of others just like Leonard. This story brought me back to my life when I was treated horribly in school for being different. The author and narrator captured the essence perfectly. A must listen to all. Maybe learn something about yourself by surprise. I hope this author goes on to write more amazing stories with great value to the listeners.

Well worth the listen!

I cannot say how nicely surprised I was by this selection. The performance was amazing; every character well developed. Excellent story! I want to know these people...come to think about it, I probably do. A great reminder to live our best lives as authentically as we can; together.

Short but Sweet

I loved the story, the characters were awesome! I would love to hear something more!

Brilliant performance!!!

I still have tears welling in my eyes. An hour spent on the Jersey shore has changed something in me, I’m not sure what it is but I feel different. Thank you Mr. Lecesne!

Touching story

Absolutely awesome story and narration! Wish it was longer! Loved all the characters that were brought to life by the narrator!

Moving

I Loved the characters and the presentation. It is a fun listen and touching story.

SO GOOD!

This production was totally unexpected. I read the blurb, I was drawn to the story but had no idea what to expect, really.
What a gift!
I don’t want to ruin anything for you so just trust me, this piece of theater is very well performed, and the playwright has created a tale that unfolds in bits, like an artichoke, and without a single unnecessary moment tells the story of one young man and all the lives he touched.

Heartfelt

Very inspirational, couldn’t stop listening even for a second and wanted to cry of joy at one point.