Detroit Repertory Theatre to Host Champage Celebration on Opening Night of COUNTDOWN TO THE HAPPY DAY

The First Professional Production of Thomas W. Stephens' powerful play Countdown to the Happy Day will have a Champagne Celebration on Thursday, May 25 at the Detroit Repertory Theatre at 8:30pm. Opening Nights at the Rep are always full of camaraderie and celebration. This one will be no different.

Guests are invited to join in a Champagne toast in the elegant lobby gallery of the Theatre after the show with the cast, crew and playwright who will be in attendance for Opening Night, as well as the following evening's performance, Friday, May 26 at 8:30pm.

Tickets are still the lowest prices for professional theatre in the region at $17 advance or $20 day of performance, and may be purchased online at detroitreptheatre.com or by calling (313) 868-1347. Countdown to the Happy Day will run Thursdays through Sundays until June 25, 2017. More information may be found at detroitreptheatre.com.

Gertie, a troubled army veteran and self-made bag lady encounters Cervin, a hulking 7th grade dropout. The emotionally combustible relationship that ensues proves to us and to them, that their lives matter.

Sandra Love Aldridge (DETROIT) makes her directorial debut with Countdown to the Happy Day. Ms. Aldridge is no stranger to the Rep stage. She is an alumnus of the DRT's famous Actors' Workshop, and has acted in numerous Detroit Rep productions over the past few decades, garnering many subscriber awards. She most recently returned to the Rep stage as the title character in The Realization of Emily Linder.

Her cast includes another beloved veteran actor of the Detroit Repertory stage, Casaundra Freeman (DETROIT). Ms. Freeman will be familiar to metro Detroit area audiences for her work on many stages in the region. Most recently, she appeared in Firepower at the Rep earlier this season. Ms. Freeman shares the stage with Calvin Biggs, Jr. (DETROIT). Mr. Biggs, Jr. is a current student of theatre at Wayne State University and is making his professional acting debut in Countdown to the Happy Day.

Harry Wetzel (DEARBORN) is the Set Designer for "Happy Day"; Mary Copenhagen (LAPEER) will design the costumes; Thomas Schraeder (Beverly Hills) is the Lighting Designer; Burr Huntington (ROYAL OAK) is the Sound Designer.
All Tickets, Fundraisers, Bargain Booklets, and Subscriptions remain the most affordable prices for not-for-profit professional theatre in the Region. General admission is $17 in advance and $20 for regular admission -- all seats, all performances. The Rep's "Anytime, Multi-Use" Gold Double Subscription for two is the unmatched price of $100 and a Silver Single Person Subscription is $50. 10-ticket Bargain Booklets, Regular and Matinee are $110 and $100 respectively and make great mini-fundraisers.

For tickets, fundraisers and information call or visit the Rep Box office, 313*868*1347. Tickets can be purchased by phone using Visa or MasterCard. There is no surcharge.

The oldest professional (Union) non-profit theatre in the State of Michigan, the Detroit Repertory Theatre's mission is guided by the belief that the sense of community is stronger than the forces that splinter and that efforts to preserve unity deserve the same attention and support as the justly cultivated efforts to retain diversity. The implicit goal in all the theatre's efforts is to produce the best possible professional theatre while fostering cultural democratization of the arts, and fighting by example, the disturbing level of racism that still exists.

Detroit Repertory Theatre is located in the geographical heart of the city at 13103 Woodrow Wilson, Detroit, MI 48238 Parking is Attended, Lighted, Fenced-In and Free. (313) 868-1347 www.detroitreptheatre.com.

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