The Flea Theater presents
The Theatre @ Boston Court’s Production of

HAPPY DAYS

By Samuel Beckett

Featuring

BROOKE ADAMS and TONY SHALHOUB

Directed by ANDREI BELGRADER
Scenic Designer: TAKESHI KATA
Lighting Designer: TOM ONTIVEROS
Costume Designer: MELANIE WATNICK
Sound Designer: ROBERT ORIOL
Prop Designer: MADISON RHOADES
Stage Manager: MICHAL V. MENDELSON
Assistant Stage Manager: BEN ANDERSON
Production Consultant: ALYSSA ESCALANTE
Wardrobe: LAURA ARCHER
Wardrobe Assistant: GABRIELLE D’ENTREMONT
Assistant to Ms. Adams: MARIETTE STRAUSS
Sound Board Operator: D.R. BAKER

The Flea Theater
41 White Street (3 blocks below Canal Street between Broadway and Church Street)
(212) 352-3101 or www.theflea.org

Samuel Beckett’s existential play, HAPPY DAYS, celebrates the resilience of the human spirit while asking “why bother?’ Perhaps that’s what makes this such an intriguing play. Put two veteran actors in the male and female roles, Brooke Adams and Tony/Emmy/Screen Actors Guild/Golden Globe Award-winning Tony Shalhoub, and how could you lose? Winnie is buried in sand up to her waist in the first act and up to her neck in act two. She awakens to a bell and begins her day with routines and rituals performed under an unrelenting sun. She prattles to herself and to Willie as she empties out her purse. Willie in turn occasionally grunts in response to Winnie’s non-stop questions or reads headlines from a decrepit newspaper.

Adams gives Winnie a flighty persona and yet grounds her figuratively and literally in a determination to survive and find hope in the minutest of circumstances. Shalhoub, although seldom seen, is a stabilizing and necessary force in Winnie’s life. He serves as both a companion, albeit barely participating, and a reminder of younger days. Together they form a union against all odds. In HAPPY DAYS the humor is droll, the questions go unanswered, and the performances are impressive. Definitely worth a trip down to The Flea.

- Laurie Lawson -