IN THE NEWS

THEATER REVIEW: THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH BERKELEY REP

Playwright Keith Bunin skillfully adapts this young adult novel into a gripping stage drama. As with any Berkeley Rep production, the ensemble delivers outstanding performances. Each character struggles to move forward after Franny’s tragic death, and there’s not a false note of sentimentality. The audience deeply feels their pain.

“THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH” EXPLORES TWEEN’S CRISIS & QUEST—AT BERKELEY REP

Tyne Rafaeli’s seamless direction explores the play’s psychological undercurrents with honest respect for the youngsters’ feelings and emotions. With its focus on teens, attention-getting scenic design, and special effects, “The Thing About Jellyfish” makes an ideal trip to Berkeley Rep for children over ten—and for us grown-ups, too.

WORLD PREMIERE PLAY 'THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH' DAZZLES AT BERKELEY REP

The direction by Tyne Rafaelli is quick-paced but careful around the most emotional beats of the action. But the true co-star of the show with Lawler is the dazzling projection design by Lucy Mackinnon, which gorgeously evokes oceans, aquariums, jellyfish (of course), and a dozen different interiors, in tandem with Derek McLane's slick set design.

CAN A YA NOVEL BECOME THEATER FOR ADULTS?

Even if you’re an actual adult, young adult art can still charm in its poetic simplicity. Its imagination runs free of workaday cares and assumptions. And an ending overflowing with unconditional love, where everyone’s going to be OK, sounds very appealing in February 2025. 

REVIEW: BERKELEY REP'S 'THING ABOUT JELLYFISH' A DAZZLING PRODUCTION OF A SIMPLE STORY

The theatrical adaptation, written by Keith Bunin and directed by Tyne Rafaeli, is lots more than just a story about a precocious girl whose former bestie, Franny, suddenly drowns when they’re in seventh grade.

REVIEW: THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH AT BERKELEY REPERTORY

Berkeley Rep’s World Premiere of Ali Benjamin’s coming of age story The Thing About Jellyfish is a tremendous technical achievement highlighted by an impressive lead performance by Matilda Lawler (HBO’s “Station Eleven” and “The Gilded Age,” The Ferryman on Broadway) in the role of Suzy. Prescient for today’s audiences, this story of love, loss, grief and resilience can be appreciated by all.

THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH 

In Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s world premiere of Keith Bunin’s adapted The Thing about Jellyfish, a young girl’s coming-of-age story takes on numerous surprising and impacting dimensions as can only be imagined by a child who is fearless in asking difficult questions and in using her imagination to find the answers.  Her final learning is a hard-fought triumph that touches to the core and inspires all who have witnessed the journey.

REVIEW: 'JELLYFISH' AT BERKELEY REP IS REALLY 2 PLAYS THAT EVENTUALLY CONNECT

There’s a vibe to “Jellyfish” that’s kind of “Dear Evan Hansen” meets the kinetic stage adaptation of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” in the way that it tries to take an audience into the whirling mind of a young person outside the norm. 

THE SILENCE IS ALIVE IN BERKELEY REP’S STAGE ADAPTATION OF ‘THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH’

Ali Benjamin's "imaginative and moving book, which was nominated for a 2015 National Book Award, features a 12-year-old girl, Suzy Swanson, who mostly stops speaking after learning that her best friend, Franny, drowned while on vacation just weeks before the start of seventh grade.'

MATILDA LAWLER & MORE TO STAR IN THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH AT BERKELEY REP

Berkeley Repertory Theatre has revealed the full cast and creative team for the world premiere of The Thing About Jellyfish, performing at Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theatre from Friday, January 31 through Sunday, March 9, 2025.