The Happy Time:
50th Anniversary Concert
Music by John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb, Book by N. Richard Nash
Assistant Director
April 19, 2018
Feinstein’s/54 Below
Jacques, a world-roving photographer, returns to his French-Canadian village hoping to recover the happy time of his childhood. His nephew, fascinated by his uncle’s world, proposes to drop out of school and become his assistant. When Jacques is confronted with this new responsibility, he begins to question his own life choices.
To commemorate its 50th anniversary of opening night on Broadway, Feinstein’s/54 Below brought back one of musical theater’s most romantic scores, The Happy Time. Broadway veteran, and original cast member, Tony Award winner Michael Rupert (Falsettos, Sweet Charity, Legally Blonde), takes audiences back to 1968 to rediscover one of the greatest scores from one of Broadway’s most accomplished teams, Tony Award winners John Kander and Fred Ebb (Chicago, Cabaret).
Creative Team
Directed by Michael Rupert
Assistant Directed by Yoni Weiss
Music Direction by Eugene Gwozdz
Produced by Robert W. Schneider
Company
Tony Award winner Debbie Gravitte, Tony Award winner Karen Ziemba, Tony Award winner Michael Rupert, Jim Walton, Drama Desk Award winner Jim Brochu, Claybourne Elder (Company), Kara Lindsay (Newsies), Nic Rouleau (Hello, Dolly!), Iris Beaumier (The Marvelous Wonderettes), Mary Callanan (Bandstand), Alex Dorf (A Bronx Tale), Asher Dubin (The Body Politic), Peyton Lusk (Falsettos), Jesse Markowitz (Avenue Q), Janet Metz (Falsettoland), Paris Alexander Nesbitt (The Book of Mormon), Drama Desk nominee A.J. Shively (Bright Star), Cecelia Ticktin (Wicked), and Ryan Vona (Beautiful).
“But when it came to the showstoppers, it was two women who took the stage in ways that only seasoned pros such as they are capable. Tony Award winners Karen Ziemba and Debbie Gravitte showed what makes them the lethal talents they have been throughout their careers … the show’s ensemble stuffed onto the tiny 54 Below stage as if they were all playing the Winter Garden … all of which added up to… well, a happy time.”