We are not alone. It’s a phrase we often read or hear from well-intended people who are trying to help us cope with the trials and tragedies of life. Too many times, it feels and sounds too pithy or insincere. Other times however, it strengthens and elevates us to a cathartic point where we can place one foot in front of the other and continue to go on with life.
Michael Cruz Kayne brings us into this realm of empathy and compassion in his stunning and poignant Off-Broadway play, Sorry For Your Loss, produced by Audible Theater. The loss endured by Kayne and his family is one that most of us can never imagine. Still, he comically tells the audience at the top of this 75 minute show that “everybody’s gonna die, right? 100% of us—are going to die. All of you are pre-dead.” He continues to list famous and lesser known people throughout history who have already died and who will die.
Oddly enough, the solace and comfort that Kayne felt was online—on the now lifeline supported platform of twitter. “a place where I found a lot of community, weirdly, is is the internet, ”he explains. “I know it sounds terrible because the internet is a cesspool.” Yet after a heartfelt tweet, he quickly learned that others were willing to share their own personal moments of grief.
Sorry for your Loss works on so many levels. It helps to have such a charming, earnest personality like Cruz Kayne who wrote and stars in the show. He has the lived experience to share this tale with grit and gravitas. The play also takes us to unexpected places. Admittedly, I was scratching my head after the first 20 minutes questioning the direction and focus of the show. But as Cruz wisely tells us several times throughout the evening, “Things can be one way, but they can also be another way.”
It’s smart to go into this piece with an open mind, an open heart and a box of tissues. In the best way possible, it alters the way we view death and reminds us of the beauty that life—no matter how long or short lived it is—is mystical and precious.
Audible Theater’s Sorry for Your Loss runs Off Broadway through June 10th at the Minetta Lane Theater (18 Minetta Lane between 6th and MacDougal). For tickets and information, click here.