Happily After Ever
with Ricochet Collective at 59E59
March 30 – April 16, 2016
Newlyweds Darren and Janet want nothing more than to build the perfect life together. But when Janet gives birth to a baby with both male and female genitalia, they find themselves in the unlikely position of having to choose a gender for their child—all while competing with the perfect couple next door and dealing with a misunderstood family dog—in this hilarious battle of the sexes.
PLAYWRIGHT’S NOTE
The exclamation “It’s a boy!” or the equally enthusiastic “It’s a girl!” make up the first few words that welcome us into the world. They engender ideas of how we should dress and act, what jobs we should pursue, and whom we should love.
These ideas are so ingrained in both our minds and society that we often don’t notice them.
We assume our choices are organic, that men are biologically coded to play sports and women are predisposed to love cooking.
Happily After Ever takes a satirical look at the categorization of gender. Drawing from what can only be described as the epitome of gender normativity—the sitcom—this play questions the categories that define our lives and the extent to which we can exercise choice.
Images courtesy of © Erik Carter
Selected Press
“By turns whimsical, campy, hallucinatory and poignant, it nods to scads of classic sitcoms, unfolding in a Technicolor world where the men are men and the women are bored at home.”
“Review: In ‘Happily After Ever,’ a Couple’s Impossible Choice”
Laura Collins-Hughes – New York Times
“Love and fear face off with each other in this witty sitcom-like battle of the sexes […] The stylistic staging is beautifully helmed by Sherri Eden Barber and crisply played by the accomplished actors, never missing a beat in an entertaining little gem […] Everything merges perfectly” ★★★★
“Happily Ever After”
Patrick Christiano – TheaterLife
“...goofy and fun...Zlatos’ script is larger than life...a sugar-coated cartoon of a play that will make you laugh but then might lead you to examine that laughter and whether what caused it was funny or actually really tragic.”
“Happily After Ever…”
Victoria Teague – New York Theater Review
“...even the sexual identification of a dog can be suspect and relativistic. As played by Anderson, the droll and downcast Tommy adds further comic relief to an unusual and entertaining production.”
“HAPPILY AFTER EVER at 59E59 Theaters”
Allan Miller – A Seat in the Aisle
“...turns stereotypic notions about marriage, gender and fulfillment upside down using irony, farce and pathos."”
“Happily Ever After: A Farce of Gender-Bending Cultural Expectations”
Carole Di Tosti – Theather Pizzazz
“Barber has handled her perfectly cast actors with such a creative and unique touch that I had moments of feeling like Woody Allen and Guy Ritchie had given birth to a slick, punchy, well-edited, unconventional film that I was now experiencing in real life.”
“Review: Happily After Ever”
Tania Fisher – Stage Buddy
“...a brilliant piece of comedic theater that has, at its core, a deeply loving and careful heart. Playwright Laura Zlatos has crafted an incredibly endearing play, with characters that are absurdly lovable despite of, or possibly because of, how outright bizarre they can be, it has the power to break your heart.”
“Happily After Ever Charms and Provokes”
Marti Sichel – Woman Around Town
Cast
Molly-Ann Nordin⸊
Jeffrey Brian Adams⸊
Marlon Meikle
Brennan Lowery
Jim Anderson
⸊Equity Approved Showcase.
These actors are appearing courtesy
of Actor’s Equity Association.
Creative Team
Director: Sherri Eden Barber
Playwright: Laura Zlatos
Set Designer: Rebecca Lord-Surratt
Costume Designer: Stephanie Levin
Lighting Designer: Dallas Estes
Composer & Sound Designer: Mark Van Hare
Master Electrician/ Asst. Lighting Designer: Victoria Bain
Stage Manager: Ryan Ostendorf
Assistant Stage Manager: Melanie Aponte*
Clown Consultant: Ilan Ben-Yehuda
Fight Director: Alex J. Gould
Production Manager: Brandon Pape
Dramaturg: Stephen Christensen
Casting Director: Christine McKenna