Life imitates art in “All The Beauty In The World”
Patrick Bringley’s one-man play, based on his bestselling memoir, paints a striking portrait of a man in transition.
Playwright and bestselling author Patrick Bringley.
BY DEBORAH SKOLNIK
The set of All The Beauty In The World, a new play at DR2 Theatre in Manhattan, is remarkably spare: A trio of plain frames, each with an ever-changing display of master artworks, faces outwards towards the audience. Soon, however, it’s clear that Exhibit A is Patrick Bringley, the show’s pleasant, mild-mannered narrator. He is not only the sole actor but also the playwright, and the play is based on his bestselling memoir of his years working at a museum. Put briefly, this is Bringley’s world, and we are privileged to live in it for 90 minutes.
Our hero lays bare his life, the adult years of which begin with him “stapled to a seat” in the editorial department The New Yorker. His dreams of literary fame give way to a nightmare, however, when his much-adored brother dies of cancer. Emotionally rudderless, Bringley no longer has an appetite for attempting to write the Great American Novel; instead, he searches for a place he can work in a contemplative setting, one that allows him to take things in rather than focus on his output.
His quest ends with the acquisition of a blue blazer, slacks, a maroon tie, and an $80 annual sock allowance. That’s the official uniform of a guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a job Bringley holds for some years to come. He spends as long as 12 hours a day in his official guard pose—hands behind one’s back, feet spread—or leaning against walls that display Titians, Bruegels, and other works the world has admired for centuries. The museumgoers are, shall we say, pieces of work themselves, ranging from shy and sensitive to downright clueless (no, you’re not allowed to sit on a classical statue’s lap). All the while, Bringley is becoming an art aficionado, able to revere the beauty of the treasures he safeguards while relating them to the imperfection, chaos, and occasional sublimeness of the human experience.
Is what lies within a painting’s frame an artwork, or a window that provides a whole new perspective on the world and oneself? Can beauty transform people into better versions of themselves? By turns witty and world-weary, Bringley escorts you along the path of his musings—which leads to profound, and profoundly uplifting, answers.
All The Beauty In The World, DR2 Theatre, 103 E. 15th St.; 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Wednesdays, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays, and 3 p.m. Sundays. Runs through May 25th. Tickets begin at $45; to purchase, click here.