Background image: A tarot-card style image of a skeleton dancing in front of a "wheel of fortune" that represents destiny/fate.

A 2018 Pulitzer Prize Finalist for Drama:

EVERYBODY

By Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Directed by Susannah Martin

November 7–10, 2024
Zellerbach Playhouse

This contemporary, comedic reimagining of a medieval morality play follows the character "Everybody" (chosen at random from the cast for each performance) on a journey to meet "God" and make an accounting of their life. 

As "Everybody" searches for someone or something to accompany them (A friend? A family member? Their stuff?), they ponder the age-old question: 

What’s the meaning of life?

Critical Acclaim for Everybody

“This is theatre rather unlike anything you might have seen… unusual, unconventional and eye-opening… It is not only provocative and involving, it is also funny. Wildly funny, in fact.” — Huffington Post

"With Everybody, Jacobs-Jenkins has written a play about love—or, rather, a play that shows how impossible it is to write about love—and it fills the heart in a new and unexpected way." — New Yorker

"Throughout his meteoric career, Jacobs-Jenkins has made a virtue of his anxieties about identity—social, racial, creative—in meta-theatrical plays that turn traditional forms inside out." — New York Times

Play slideshow
Image Gallery
A portrait of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. He smiles while wearing black glasses and a gray t-shirt.

About the Playwright

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is a Brooklyn-based playwright, producer and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist. His plays include Girls, Everybody (Signature Theatre), War (Yale Rep; Lincoln Center/LCT3), Gloria (Vineyard Theatre), Appropriate (Obie Award; Signature Theatre), An Octoroon (Obie Award; Soho Rep, Theatre for a New Audience), and Neighbors (The Public Theater). Most recently he was the showrunner, executive producer, and writer for Hulu/FX's drama series, Kindred, based on Octavia E. Butler's groundbreaking novel. A Premiere Resident playwright at Signature Theatre, his honors include USA Artists, Guggenheim, and MacArthur fellowships, the Windham-Campbell Prize for Drama, and the inaugural Tennessee Williams Award and he currently serves as Vice President of the Dramatists Guild council. He teaches at Yale University.

Susannah Martin, Lecturer

About the Director

Susannah Martin is a director, teacher, performer, and theatre maker of Tunisian heritage, and a Sephardic/Mizrahi Jewish feminist- activist-artist. She has taught, directed, and performed for organizations throughout the Bay Area including: Shotgun Players (Company Member), A.C.T., California Shakespeare Theater, Cutting Ball Theater, Golden Thread Productions, Magic Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, Mugwumpin (Company Member), Oakland Theater Project, the Playwright's Foundation, San Francisco Playhouse, TheatreFirst, and West Edge Opera. Susannah received her B.F.A. in Theatre from NYU and her M.F.A. in Directing from UC Davis. She believes strongly in fostering new voices and developing young storytellers to build and transform our communities.

CAST & CREATIVE TEAM

Cast

Lexie Brent

Tehya Drovetta

Piper Joven

Leo Kearney

Riya Manimaran

Emily Nightingale

Christopher Nolan

Alorah Raeann

Anna Belle Sanders

Maddox Scardina

Creative Team

Susannah Martin
Director

Hayley Margaret Baynard
Stage Manager

Arnel Sancianco
Scenic Designer

Ray Oppenheimer
Lighting Designer

Dominique Fawn Hill
Costume Designer

Lana Palmer
Sound Designer

Latanya d. Tigner
Choreographer

Jeunée Simon
Intimacy Choreographer

Dave Maier
Fight Director

AeJay Antonis Marquis
Dramaturg

PLAN YOUR VISIT

Tickets

Buy tickets online at tickets.berkeley.edu up to two hours before each performance. Buy tickets in-person at Zellerbach Playhouse beginning one hour before each performance.

Estimated Run Time

90–95 minutes, no intermission

Showtimes

  • Thursday, November 7 at 8pm
  • Friday, November 8 at 8pm (with post-show conversation)
  • Saturday, November 9 at 2pm
  • Saturday, November 9 at 8pm
  • Sunday, November 10 at 2pm

Audience Advisories

  • Discussions about death throughout, and some references to suicide
  • Profanity throughout, and some scenes with yelling
  • Flashing lights, but no strobe lights

If you have questions about content or stage effects, please email tdpsboxoffice@berkeley.edu

Accessibility

To request wheelchair accessible seating, assisted listening devices, large print programs, or other accommodations, please contact us at least 7–10 days in advance: tdpsboxoffice@berkeley.edu

Arrival & Doors

Please plan to arrive on campus 30–40 minutes prior to the performance to ensure that you are in your seat before showtime. The lobby opens 30 minutes prior to the performance, and the theater opens 20 minutes prior to the performance.

Additional information for guests is available here.