By Eva Trieger

SAN DIEGO – Author Cheryl Strayed is best known for her novel, which was later turned into a movie, Wild. While that work is instructive in its own right, it pales in comparison to this deeply personal and interactive piece, Small beautiful things. Scripps Ranch Theater has delivered an intensely personal show that delves into all the private spaces that many of us would prefer to erase.

Council columnist Sugar (Jyl Kaneshiro) tackles many life issues from all ages and genders that challenge us as an audience to face. The topics range from navel-gazing to life-changing, but Sugar gives each questioner a candid and often personal answer.

The show features only four actors playing a variety of characters. Letter writers are only identified by numbers in the program. These multi-faceted individuals have roles such as men, women, youth and middle-aged. They are representative of the demographic that reads advice columns.

Sugar is a woman who has experienced a lot in her life through two marriages, children and a career. She gives advice to those who write in and ask her about their own riddles. She uses her own wealth of knowledge to advise them. Her responses are often tear-inducing or difficult, but whatever hardships she has endured are generally balanced with a coping mechanism or a lesson on how to move forward. Prepare to have your core temporarily flayed before Sugar models a path to wholeness.

Letter Writer #1, Max Macke has appeared in a number of our local theaters including New Village Arts, North Coast Rep and Moxie. His portrayal of a father who has lost a son is truly heartbreaking. This show reveals Macke’s range of acting, sometimes cavalier and then gutted.

Letter writer #2, Michelle Marie Trester, is no novice either! We have seen her at Cygnet, North Coast, Roustabouts and San Diego Repertory. Michelle’s character challenges Sugar on her identity and qualifications to answer questions from writers.

Letter Writer #3, Lisette Velandia asks Sugar provocative questions and receives supportive and actionable answers. Although this cast debuted at Scripps Ranch, it has appeared at New Village Arts, UCSD and other area theaters.

When we entered the theater the usher offered me a packet of tissues. It was the best present I have received in a long time. This play is incredibly intense and emotional, but it is equally rewarding and restorative. At the end of the play, Sugar offers the audience several warnings about how to live a life of self-acceptance, love and promise. The ending is extremely uplifting and hopeful, reminding us all that our journey on this planet is only a short journey and we have the power to create our lives to our satisfaction.

Small beautiful things runs through December 8. Tickets can be purchased at scrippsranchtheatre.org or by phone at 858.395.0573.

*

Eva Trieger is a freelance writer specializing in art coverage.