HAPPY DAYS to Star Roxanne Fay at Bridge Street Theatre
Steven Patterson co-stars as Willie in Matthew Earnest's staging of Beckett's classic in Catskill, New York.
This September, Berkie Award winner Roxanne Fay will face one of modern theatre's most unforgettable predicaments: beginning the day buried to her waist in the earth-and ending it buried to her neck. Bridge Street Theatre presents Samuel Beckett's hauntingly comic masterpiece 'Happy Days,' directed by Matthew Earnest and featuring Fay as Winnie alongside Bridge Street Theatre co-founder Steven Patterson as Willie, September 3-13.
When the play begins, Winnie is embedded in a mound of earth beneath a relentless sun. Undeterred, she begins another day: praying, brushing her teeth, unpacking the familiar contents of her bag, recalling fragments of the past, and attempting to draw a response from her largely unseen husband.
Winnie fills the silence with memories, quotations, daily rituals, and an astonishing determination to declare each day happy. When the earth rises still higher, her optimism-and her need to be heard-become all the more urgent.
'Happy Days' transforms its stark central image into an unforgettable exploration of hope, habit, marriage, memory, and the human will to endure. Written by Nobel Prize-winning playwright Samuel Beckett and first produced in 1961, the play has become one of the landmark works of the Modern Stage.
Fay returns to Bridge Street Theatre following her Berkie Award-winning portrayal of Mary Tyrone in the theatre's 2022 production of 'Long Day's Journey Into Night.' Her previous Bridge Street appearances include 'Mary Jane,' 'Leni,' 'The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds,' and her original works 'Thrice to Mine,' 'Upon This Rock: The Magdalene Speaks,' 'Home Fires Burning,' and 'Dream Child: The Trial of Alice in Wonderland.'
Most recently, Fay appeared as Brutus in 'Julius Caesar,' which she also adapted for an all-woman cast of eight, at The Studio@620 in Florida. A 2016 Hawthornden Fellow, she also creates original work for The Dalí Museum, including the film 'Breton and the Muse: A Midnight in Paris.'
Appearing as Willie is Steven Patterson, co-founder of Bridge Street Theatre with his husband, John Sowle. Patterson has performed Off- and off-off-Broadway and with theatres across the country, including South Coast Repertory, Capital Repertory Theatre, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, freeFall Theatre, Centenary Stage Company, and numerous Shakespeare festivals.
His favorite roles include Vanya in 'Uncle Vanya,' James Tyrone in 'Long Day's Journey Into Night,' Lear in 'King Lear,' Jake Sturdy in 'Kill Me Now,' Austin Wiggin in 'The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World,' David in 'Poor Super Man,' and Zach in 'A Chorus Line.' He also created and performed the solo play 'Beauty,' inspired by the life and work of Jean Genet, touring it internationally for four years.
Director Matthew Earnest creates new plays, reimagined classics, musicals, opera, literary adaptations, and original works across the United States, in New York City, on tour, and at international festivals.
His productions include 'Wanderlust: A History of Walking,' adapted and directed with a commission from the National Endowment for the Arts; 'Himmelweg,' an Off-Broadway New York Times Critics' Pick; 'On the Verge...,' honored by the Dallas Theater Critics Forum; 'blood pudding,' winner of the Audience Favourite Award at Dublin Festival Fringe; 'Peter Pan,' for which he received directing honors from Cleveland Scene and the Cleveland Plain Dealer; and 'Dead Letter Office,' named Best of the Berkshires.
Earnest's work has been featured in American Theatre magazine and The New Yorker. A member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society since 2007, he recently completed his tenure as Head of the MFA Directing Program at the University of Southern Mississippi.
The production's scenic and Costume Designer is Will Bezek, with lighting design by John Sowle. Timothy Dunn serves as stage manager.
'Happy Days' will be performed September 3-13 at Bridge Street Theatre, located at 44 W. Bridge Street in Catskill, NY. Performances are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7pm and Sundays at 2pm. Tickets are $30 for adults and $25 for students.
Tickets and additional information are available at https://bridgest.org/happy-days/ or by calling the box office at 518-943-3818.
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