BSR_S10E16 - Matt Decker - Theatre Horizon

BSRBroad Street ReviewSeason 10Theatre HorizonMatt DeckerWishing To Grow Up Brightly

Nov 13

The conversation explores the profound impact of adoption stories on individuals and communities. Matthew Decker shares his experiences of discussing a play about adoption, revealing how it has encouraged others to open up about their own adoption stories. The dialogue highlights the beauty of connection and the emotional resonance of shared experiences among adoptees.

Theatre Horizon presents Wishing to Grow Up Brightly, a genre-defying new musical co-created by Amanda Morton (The Color Purple, A New Brain, Into the Woods, Broadway’s Maybe Happy Ending, Gutenberg! The Musical! and KPOP) with longtime collaborator Theatre Horizon’s multi-time Barrymore Award-winning Interim Artistic Director Matthew Decker (The Few, A New Brain, Into the Woods, Broadway’s upcoming La La Land), Josh Totora, and Brenson Thomas. In this surreal and heartfelt story, South Korean adoptee Amanda Newton returns to her white childhood home after her father's death. There, she discovers her father's preserved memories through a futuristic service called reMemorex, launching her on a time-bending

journey through grief, identity, sitcom nostalgia, and long-silenced questions. Morton, a three-time Barrymore Award recipient for Outstanding Music Direction for productions at Theatre Horizon and Wilma Theater, inspired this story, and Decker directs. Wishing to Grow Up Brightly has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. Performances run November 5 to November 23, 2025.

FOR TICKETS AND INFORMATION: https://theatrehorizon.org

adoption, identity, childhood, Korean, personal story, self-discovery, family, memories, universal experiences, cultural exploration, Amanda Morton, musical, Wishing to Grow Up Brightly, identity, family, creative process, BSR, Broad Street Review Podcast, November, 2025, Theatre Horizon

Darnelle Radford

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