A riveting dark comedy about family, friendship, and betrayal.
Happy, Happy, Happy… tells the story of Lauren, a woman struggling to manage the funeral of her grandmother, her best friend’s secrets, her husband’s desires, and her troubled son’s 19th birthday party — all in a single, madcap, stressful day.
By Lisa Every and Jenn Ruzumna
Casting
Anne: Lauren’s best friend. Female 40’s.
Lauren: Caleb’s mother. Married to Will. Female 40’s.
Will: Caleb’s father. Male 40’s.
Caleb: Male 19.
Premiere
Happy, Happy, Happy… was originally produced by Macha Theatre Works on October 13th-28th, 2017. It was directed by Amy Poisson at the Erikson Theatre Off Broadway.
Review
“Please don’t let the name Happy, Happy, Happy fill your mind with any silly notions…It’s quick and funny but darkly so, and just a hair twisted—which is pretty much my favorite genre of funny. The witty, thoughtful production, elegantly staged, engages messy amounts of humanity, badly kept secrets and some really nasty life choices.
Happy, Happy, Happy, is a smart, tight and clean 75 minutes of theatre that will surely leave you thinking and definitely get you talking: about women, about family, friendship, relationships, risk and tolerance. But mostly this show underscores the simple facts that life is complicated, people are a mess, and love (familial, fraternal, whatever) can be a serious pain in the ass. But in the end, it’s all worth it. Like Lauren says, ‘Never pass up a chance to drink whiskey and swim naked!’ Always good advice.”
— Adrian Ryan, City Arts
Mneme Press 