Academy Award-winning actress Dianne Wiest has said that doing the work of Samuel Beckett is a great gift to her as an actress. We get to experience what she does with that gift as Beckett’s play Happy Days comes to the Mark Taper Forum. The show runs there through June 30th.
Beckett is the Irish playwright whose plays Waiting for Godot, Endgame, Krapp’s Last Tape along with Happy Days are considered some of the finest ever written. They also offer actors incredible roles to play. But, they aren’t easy.
Happy Days is filled with humor, but it is decidedly a dark sense of humor. Winnie (Wiest) has been partially swallowed up by the earth. Nearby but out of reach is her husband, Willie (Michael Rudko). Their day begins and ends with the ringing of bells. But as time goes on, it seems as though those happy days she tries to convince herself still exist are plainly going further out of reach – just as she is sinking deeper into the earth.
The play is mostly a monologue. There are limited interactions between Winnie and Willie. Those that occur are important, but as an audience we’re truly invested in Winnie’s perspective of life. She has an intense need for companionship; she practices daily routines without the slightest acknowledgement that her life is stuck in one place (literally); and she finds that language appears to have lost its meaning for her.
Wiest is simply superb in this production, directed by James Bundy. Winnie is an opportunity for an actress to shine and Wiest does that and then some.
Happy Days is a play for theatergoers who want to be entertained (and there are plenty of laughs to be found), but also want to be challenged by a play, and a performance, that demand we pay attention, listen and ultimately feel.
The runtime of Happy Days is approximately 2 hours which includes a 15-minute intermission.
For tickets go here.
Main Photo: Diane Wiest in “Happy Days” (Photo by Craig Schwartz)