Preview
  • The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey

  • By: Celeste Lecesne
  • Narrated by: Celeste Lecesne
  • Length: 1 hr and 2 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (9,679 ratings)

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The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey

By: Celeste Lecesne
Narrated by: Celeste Lecesne
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Publisher's summary

Writer of the Academy award-winning short Trevor, founder of The Trevor Project (a 24-hour nationwide crisis hotline for LGBTQIA+ youth), and stage and screen actor, Celeste Lecesne performs their hit off-Broadway play, The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey. This live performance of a powerful police procedural comes to life through the artistry of Celeste Lecesne and is accompanied by the original music of Duncan Sheik. Celeste portrays every character in a small Jersey Shore town as they unravel the story of Leonard Pelkey, a tenaciously optimistic and flamboyant 14-year-old boy who has gone missing. A luminous force of nature whose magic is only truly felt once he is gone, Leonard becomes an unexpected inspiration as the town’s citizens question how they live, who they love, and what they leave behind.

Brash detective Chuck DeSantis seeks out answers as to why Leonard is missing. Along the way, questions about the teen’s sexuality force members of the community to confront their own biases and beliefs. This poetic piece of audio leads listeners down an important path towards understanding and acceptance. The entire town changes forever because of Leonard Pelkey—a character originally from Celeste Lecesne’s young adult book Absolute Brightness that inspired the play. This whodunit brims with humor and heart and delivers a deeply important message about love, prejudice, and being yourself.

The New York Times raved that The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey "...leave[s] you beaming with joy...a superlative solo show...Lecesne is a writer of wit and keen observational skills, who here unfolds a dark tale that shimmers with the needling suspense you associate with the best police procedurals."

Written and performed by Celeste Lecesne

Sound design by Christian Frederickson

Original music by Duncan Sheik

Note: The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey contains adult language.

©2019 Celeste Lecesne (P)2019 AO Media LLC
  • Performance
  • Categories: LGBTQ+
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Go Behind the Scenes with Celeste Lecesne

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Our favorite moments from The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey

  • The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey
  • Reporting Leonard missing
  • The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey
  • Searching for hope
  • The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey
  • Leonard’s super power
Celeste Lecesne

About the Creator and Performer

Celeste Lecesne wrote the short film Trevor, which won the 1995 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short and inspired the founding of The Trevor Project, the only nationwide 24-hour suicide prevention and crisis intervention Lifeline for LGBTQIA+ and questioning youth. He created The Road Home: Stories of Children of War, which was presented at the International Peace Initiative at The Hague, and produced the documentary film, After the Storm, about the lives of 12 young people living in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Celeste adapted Armistead Maupin’s Further Tales of The City series and was a writer on the series Will & Grace. He has written three novels for young adults and created The Letter Q: Queer Writers’ Notes to Their Younger Selves. As an actor, Celeste has appeared on TV in Sex and the City, on Broadway in The Best Man, and off-Broadway in The Boys in The Band, Cloud 9, One Man Band, Word of Mouth (Drama Desk Award), and The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey (Outer Critics Circle Award). Celeste brilliantly performs every character in the audio version of his hit play The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey.

What listeners say about The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    6,314
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    1,861
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Performance
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Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 Stars
    1,677
  • 3 Stars
    932
  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

So relevant.

Exceptional performance. A story with much to consider and ponder. Why is different a bad thing? Isn't that where we often find better?

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

What a gift to the world!

Bless James for bringing this rich, powerful, funny and human story of dear Leonard. Each time I have seen the play and now listen in, I feel expanded, clearer and widened out.

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A lesson learned

An amazing story of how a young flamboyant boy changed a town. The story is the same for many of us at that age. I personally wasn’t that flamboyant but knew of others just like Leonard. This story brought me back to my life when I was treated horribly in school for being different. The author and narrator captured the essence perfectly. A must listen to all. Maybe learn something about yourself by surprise. I hope this author goes on to write more amazing stories with great value to the listeners.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Well worth the listen!

I cannot say how nicely surprised I was by this selection. The performance was amazing; every character well developed. Excellent story! I want to know these people...come to think about it, I probably do. A great reminder to live our best lives as authentically as we can; together.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Short but Sweet

I loved the story, the characters were awesome! I would love to hear something more!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant performance!!!

I still have tears welling in my eyes. An hour spent on the Jersey shore has changed something in me, I’m not sure what it is but I feel different. Thank you Mr. Lecesne!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Touching story

Absolutely awesome story and narration! Wish it was longer! Loved all the characters that were brought to life by the narrator!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Moving

I Loved the characters and the presentation. It is a fun listen and touching story.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

SO GOOD!

This production was totally unexpected. I read the blurb, I was drawn to the story but had no idea what to expect, really.
What a gift!
I don’t want to ruin anything for you so just trust me, this piece of theater is very well performed, and the playwright has created a tale that unfolds in bits, like an artichoke, and without a single unnecessary moment tells the story of one young man and all the lives he touched.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Heartfelt

Very inspirational, couldn’t stop listening even for a second and wanted to cry of joy at one point.

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