The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey.Ī Story About People Like Me, But Not For Us. Celeste brilliantly performs every character in the audio version of his hit play The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey (Outer Critics Circle Award). As an actor, Celeste has appeared on TV in The Letter Q: Queer Writers’ Notes to Their Younger Selves. He has written three novels for young adults and created Celeste adapted Armistead Maupin’sįurther Tales of The City series and was a writer on the series The Road Home: Stories of Children of War, which was presented at the International Peace Initiative at The Hague, and produced the documentary film,Īfter the Storm, about the lives of 12 young people living in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Trevor, which won the 1995 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short and inspired the founding of The Trevor Project, the only nationwide 24-hour suicide prevention and crisis intervention Lifeline for LGBTQIA+ and questioning youth. Note: The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey contains adult language. The New York Times raved that The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey '.leave 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.'

This whodunit brims with humor and heart and delivers a deeply important message about love, prejudice, and being yourself. 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 poetic piece of audio leads listeners down an important path towards understanding and acceptance. Along the way, questions about the teen’s sexuality force members of the community to confront their own biases and beliefs. 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.īrash detective Chuck DeSantis seeks out answers as to why Leonard is missing. 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. 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. 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.

Absolute Brightness by James Lecesne