Stage Review - Eulogy: Or How to Plan Your Own Funeral (and have fun doing it) - Pony World Theatre

Stage Review - Eulogy: Or How to Plan Your Own Funeral (and have fun doing it)
Presented By: Pony World Theatre - Seattle, WA
Show Run: October 24 - November 15, 2025
Date Reviewed: Monday, November 03, 2025
Run Time: 85 Minutes (no intermission)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman

Eulogy (or How to Plan Your Own Funeral and Have Fun Doing It!), written and performed by Brendan Healy with The Pallbearers and directed by Sophia Franzella, is running through November 15 at 12th Avenue Arts in Seattle, presented by Pony World Theatre. The premise is as unique as it is intimate: audience members are invited to a memorial service for Brendan Healy, complete with remembrances, reflections on life and death, and even photos of puppies—except the eulogy is delivered by Brendan himself. What unfolds is a deeply personal, surprisingly funny, and profoundly human meditation on mortality, grief, and the absurdity of being alive long enough to plan your own farewell.

Brendan mixes humor, morbidity, and somberness in a way that makes each work together in a truly synergistic way. Just when the subject matter feels almost too heavy for him, and by way of his reactions to his own story, the audience, to bear, he injects something altogether humorous, which not only makes each—the humor and the somber—hit harder, but also acts as a kind of pressure release, allowing both the audience and Brendan to take a breath before going on. The result is an experience that never feels manipulative or indulgent, but instead honest and beautifully self-aware.

The story and its presentation are part autobiography and part TED Talk, bringing the audience into a life with Cystic Fibrosis and its daily challenges. Brendan not only educates the audience about CF but gives them a visceral sense of what it takes just to survive on a daily basis with it, much less for a lifetime. Yet its overarching message isn’t about illness—it’s about the fragility of life itself, how each moment is one to treasure. It’s something we all logically know, but it takes a piece like Eulogy to make us feel it—or better said, to know it.

The Pallbearers—Nathan Brockett, Diego Chavez, Monica Cortés Viharo, Marquicia “Qui Qui” Dominguez, Claire Idstrom, and Emily Huntingford—serve as both chorus and companions in this process, supporting Brendan with warmth and sincerity. Their presence helps create the sense that this isn’t just Brendan’s story, but something communal and celebratory, a genuine ensemble in every sense of the word.

Sophia Franzella’s direction keeps the piece fluid, moving seamlessly from one mood to the next. Her production feels cohesive without ever losing its sense of spontaneity, thanks in part to the excellent creative team that she has assembled. The sound (Finley Brown and M.L. Dogg) and lighting (Amber Parker) are especially well done. The added echo to Brendan’s speech when he’s standing at the lectern, which doubles as a pulpit, is a clever touch, giving his words a kind of reverent weight. The projected background (Ahren Buhmann)—a church interior that also alternates with Brendan’s “funeral planning checklist,” family photos, and occasional puppy slides—makes the small theatre space feel voluminous. Each sound and musical cue is not only well balanced but perfectly timed to redirect the audience from the somber to the playful. Lighting too is thoughtfully executed, spotlighting Brendan at key moments or pulsing softly red to mimic the beating of a heart. Eulogy is truly a team effort, Andrea Spraycar’s props are few but oh so important in both the humor and the educational aspects of the storytelling and Amy LaZerte’s costumes are very well done, both coming together to help the Pallbearers create and present their own characters. Even stage manager Haley Thomas becomes a character in the show, a role that is too often left to the background but here gets a chance to step into the spotlight for at least a few minutes.

Another effective visual choice is Brendan’s gradual transformation throughout the show. He begins fully dressed in a suit, but over time removes his jacket, then his vest, his tie, and even his shoes—as if he’s both opening himself up more to the audience and becoming more comfortable within the space and story he’s sharing. It’s a subtle but powerful metaphor for vulnerability, and by the time he reaches the end, we feel we’ve been let into something truly personal.

There’s something striking about how Eulogy resists tidy lessons about life and death. Instead, it embraces contradiction—the humor that exists alongside pain, the gratitude that persists through fear, and the strange human instinct to keep planning even when time feels short. The show doesn’t demand tears or laughter, though both come easily; it asks only for presence.

Pony World Theatre’s Eulogy isn’t just a play about dying—it’s a play about living fully and deliberately. Brendan Healy’s performance, coupled with the sincerity of his collaborators, transforms what might have been a farewell into something closer to a celebration. It’s funny, honest, and disarmingly hopeful, reminding us that confronting mortality isn’t about giving up—it’s about finding meaning in every remaining moment. This production, under the keen direction of Sophia Franzella is a quiet triumph, and for audiences willing to face the big questions with open hearts, it’s a night worth celebrating.

The Pony World Theatre production of Brendan Healy’s Eulogy: Or How to Plan Your Own Funeral (and have fun doing it) runs on stage at 12th Ave. Arts in Seattle through November 15. For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://www.ponyworld.org/.

Photo credit: Brett Love