It’s My Made Up Life maybe not so made up

By Ty Hughes

Jon Horton may have accomplished the impossible; taking center stage and baring the soul to an entire auditorium in a powerful one-man show.

Emotions run the gamut as a recently expired man is forced to descend from the heavens to confront the issues and people that made his life what it was before he met his demise in a freak parachuting accident.

An unpopular, 6 ft. 2 in. nerdy kid, who couldn’t catch a ball, confronts old flames, childhood friends, and schoolyard bullies. The stage lights suddenly turned inward, lighting up the entire auditorium. Anonymity vanquished.

Jon’s character found his life’s acquaintances among the unsuspecting audience members. One by one he gets in their face, exposing real hurts and emotions from days long gone.

The line between fiction and non-fiction blurred to the point of perplexity, and left me feeling strangely uncomfortable.

This awkward little kid grew into a successful businessman, earning millions for his company, only to be stripped of everything in the end.

With no wife or kids to speak of, doubt and despair, broken hearts and dreams, marked this man’s life, but he brings a powerful message of pure love and acceptance. Forgiveness and understanding. As if it were being delivered directly from the man upstairs himself.

Tenderness, full disclosure, and complete transparency kept the audience riveted like a train wreck.

The man slowly ascended the staircase toward his new existence, when he catches a glimpse of his grandmother in the heavens and runs to catch up to her.