Happy Days
Sledgehammer Theatre is back with a first-rate staging of Samuel Beckett's comedy-drama about Winnie. She's stuck up to her waist in a mound. Ever an optimist, she finds "tender mercies" objects and memories (her being stuck, some say, is a metaphor for how life pulls us down). Scott Feldsher directs an almost micro-homage to Beckett. Dana Hooley would have pleased the master as well. During the 90-minute piece, she lives dozens of lives, each a version of Winnie. She dives through time, and bravely faces a future worse for her than death: the time when words fail. Francis Thumm's mostly mute Willie is just right as well. When Alan Schneider directed the world premiere in 1961, Beckett told him not to worry about "meanings." Just concentrate on the situation.
This fine production does as well. It's a site for meditation rather than simple explanations.
Critic's Pick.
When
Ongoing until Sunday, June 8, 2014
Hours
| Sundays, 2pm |
| Fridays, 8pm |
| Saturdays, 8pm |