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鈥淓very Brilliant Thing,鈥� now on stage at Live Theatre Workshop, could have been maudlin. It wasn鈥檛.

It could have been overly sentimental. It wasn鈥檛.

It could have been cringe-worthy. It wasn鈥檛.

In fact, the Duncan Macmillan play was riveting, funny and provocative, thanks to the sole actor on stage, Steve Wood, and thoughtful direction by Sabian Trout.

That funny part is especially surprising 鈥� the play is about suicide. Depression. Emotional isolation.

Yet the cleverly crafted script is full of heart, packed with laughs and over-loaded with a sweetness that never becomes cloying.

The structure is not your typical theater piece. The lights never go down. Wood is dressed in street clothes and greets audience members as they come in. Rather than a big announcement about phones, he pops around and asks people to turn them off. And he hands out typed-out lines to individuals to read when he calls their number.

Immediately, the audience has the sense we are all at a gathering of friends. We laugh and chat with him. By the time he takes the stage 鈥� with only a piano and two chairs as his set 鈥� we are rooting for him.

When he does take that stage, here is what we discover: He was six when his mother first tried to kill herself. He was flummoxed. He wanted her to know there is much to live for. So he began a list of every reason that makes life worth hanging on to.

Number 1: Ice cream.

Number 2: Water fights.

Number 5: Things with stripes.

As Wood calls out numbers, audience members read the favorite thing.

The list is woven throughout the story, is a sort of guide for us as he grows into an adult, and a touchstone reminding us that while there is darkness, there is also light.

And there is darkness in the story Wood tells, from a father who shuts him out when he needs him most, to a mother who has no use for this world 鈥� and by extension, for her son, to a marriage that crumbles as a grown son sinks into his own depression.

Audience members are also asked to become characters in the story: a father, a vet, a girlfriend/wife. But remember: Wood made us his friend before the play even started. We don鈥檛 mind helping out as he tells us the story of his life. That鈥檚 what we do with friends.

One of the biggest reasons this production succeeds is because Wood is totally guileless. His charm reads true. He didn鈥檛 just tell us the story; he lived it.

Plus, he was quick: he had to be 鈥� when audience members become part of the cast, you must be prepared to react and respond to whatever they decide to say or do. Wood handled little surprises with grace and humor.

Trout wisely kept the set simple and the action clean. There must have been some serious 鈥渙h golly is this going to work鈥� moments during the rehearsal process 鈥� at one point, Wood high-fives everyone in the audience, unsuspecting audience members are asked to join him on stage 鈥� but Trout鈥檚 instincts and directing talent gave the audience a rousing, thoughtful 60 minutes.

And therein lies the one thing wrong with this production: You long to spend more than an hour with Wood and his story. That鈥檚 not because the story doesn鈥檛 feel complete 鈥� it does. That鈥檚 because he is, you know, your friend.