Off-Broadway's ABSOLUTE BRIGHTNESS Puts Out #BrighterThanBullies Challenge for World Day of Bullying Prevention

THE ABSOLUTE BRIGHTNESS OF LEONARD PELKEY, the hit play written by and starring James Lecesne about an LGBT youth who chose to shine brighter than bullies, will lead the charge in the Broadway and Off-Broadway community to be #BrighterThanBullies in celebration of Stomp Out Bullying's Blue Shirt Day, the seventh annual World Day of Bully Prevention on Monday, October 5, 2015. James Lecesne is glad to be joined by cast members of Broadway's Hamilton, Allegiance, Kinky Boots, Beautiful and An American in Paris, Off-Broadway's The 39 Steps, and YouTube sensation Iain Armitage who will post images on their social media channels in blue shirts holding up a #BrighterThanBuillies sign. We invite kids, teens, adults, actors and theater fans to Join the cause and post your #BrighterThanBullies photo on Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter to drive awareness of anti-bullying programs to stomp out bullying around the world. The #BrighterThanBullies PDF can be downloaded here.

Stomp Out Bullying created Blue Shirt Day - World Day Of Bullying Prevention to signify the importance of National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month each October.

THE ABSOLUTE BRIGHTNESS OF LEONARD PELKEY, the critically acclaimed new play written and performed by James Lecesne, has extended its engagement and will play through Sunday, October 18 at the Westside Theatre (407 West 43 Street). A complete national tour schedule will be announced in the coming weeks. The play has scenic design by Jo Winiarski, lighting design by Matt Richards, sound design by Christian Frederickson, projection design by Aaron Rhyne, original animation & photography by Matthew Sandager, and costumes by Paul Marlow.

This "remarkable and moving" (New York Times) new play is directed by Tony Speciale, with original music by Tony Award-winning composer Duncan Sheik. Following a sold-out run at Dixon Place, The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey began performance on Saturday, July 11 officially opened on Monday, July 27, 2015, at the Westside Theatre.

"One of the greatest storytellers of his generation" (New York Times), James Lecesne 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 goes missing. A luminous force of nature whose magic is only truly felt once he disappears, Leonard becomes the unexpected inspiration for a town as they question how they live, who they love and what they leave behind. "Absolute Brightness leaves you beaming with joy." (New York Times).

James Lecesne wrote the screenplay for the Academy Award winning short film Trevor, which inspired the founding of the organization, The Trevor Project. Lecesne's novel, Trevor, was just selected one of Italy's ten must-reads for young adults, in a list that also includes Hans Christian Andersen, Roald Dahl, Nick Hornby and J.K. Rowling. James has created several solo shows including Word of Mouth, which was presented by Mike Nichols and Elaine May and directed by Eve Ensler (NY Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award) and the acclaimed One Man Band. Acting credits include Cloud 9 (Lucille Lortel), The 30th Anniversary production of Boys in the Band (Lucille Lortel), I Am My Own Wife (Hartford Stage), Motherhood Out Loud (Primary Stages) and Gore Vidal's The Best Man on Broadway. For television, he adapted Armistead Maupin's "Further Tales of the City" for Showtime (Emmy Award nomination) and was a writer for "Will and Grace". His play The Mother of Invention starred Linda Lavin and premiered at NY Stage and Film. His young adult novel, Absolute Brightness, published by Harper Collins, received The William Morris Award by the American Librarian Association and was nominated for The Lambda Literary Award. Mr. Lecesne is a co-founder of the L.G.B.T. youth organization The Trevor Project, the only national 24-hour crisis intervention and suicide prevention Lifeline for LGBT and Questioning youth.

Tickets for The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey are $85, and available at Telecharge.com (212-239-6200), or at www.AbsoluteBrightness.com. The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey plays: Monday through Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm, with matinees Wednesday and Saturday at 2pm, and Sunday at 3pm.

For every full priced and premium ticket purchased to The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey, the production will donate $5.00 directly to The Trevor Project.

Rush tickets will be available for $25 for patrons 25 years old, or younger. Rush tickets will be available for each performance only at the Westside Theatre box office, for that day's performance(s), subject to availability.

THE ABSOLUTE BRIGHTNESS OF LEONARD PELKEY is produced by Darren Bagert, Daryl Roth, Jane Dubin, Curtis Forsythe, Michael Mayer, Diane Procter, Seaview Productions and Minerva Productions/Joshua Goodman.