Additional Cast Set for Jordan E. Cooper's OH HAPPY DAY! at The Public

The Public Theater has revealed additional cast members for the New York premiere of OH HAPPY DAY!, a new play featuring original songs by Grammy Award-winning Donald Lawrence, written by Tony Award-nominated Jordan E. Cooper, and directed by Tony Award-nominated and Obie Award-winning Stevie Walker-Webb.

From the team behind The Public and Broadway’s groundbreaking Ain’t No Mo’, OH HAPPY DAY! comes to The Public after a run last season at Baltimore Center Stage. OH HAPPY DAY! begins performances in The Public’s Martinson Hall on Thursday, October 2. The Joe Papp Free Preview Performance will be on Friday, October 3. The production runs through Sunday, November 2, with an official opening on Wednesday, October 15. 

An impending flood is the least of the Johnson family’s troubles in this outrageous reimagining of Noah’s Ark from Tony Award-nominated writer and director duo Jordan E. Cooper and Stevie Walker-Webb. OH HAPPY DAY! begins in Laurel, MS, at a birthday BBQ for Lewis, the patriarch of the family. Shortly after his estranged son Keyshawn (played by Cooper) makes a surprise appearance, absurdity ensues on a day that will change their world forever. Grammy Award-winning gospel artist Donald Lawrence writes original songs for this biting new play about confronting the divine.

The cast of OH HAPPY DAY! includes Jayna Elise (Understudy), Brian D. Coats (Understudy), Jordan E. Cooper (Keyshawn), Tamika Lawrence (Niecy), Tiffany Mann (Holy Divine), Sheléa Melody McDonald (Mighty Divine), Latrice Pace (Glory Divine), Keith Randolph Smith (Lewis), and Cole Taylor (Understudy). Additional casting will be announced this fall.