Happy Days

• By Samuel Beckett
• Directed by Matthew Earnest
• Sets and Costumes by William Bezek
• Lights by John Sowle
• Stage Manager – Timothy Dunn
• with Roxanne Fay and Steven Patterson

This renowned Masterpiece, which led to Beckett’s 1969 Nobel Prize for Literature, is a hauntingly comic meditation on resilience and the human spirit. Trapped waist-deep (and later neck-deep) in earth, Winnie clings to optimism and routine as her world literally closes in around her. Beckett transforms this stark image into a powerful exploration of hope, habit, and the absurdity of existence, reminding us that even in the most confining circumstances, the will to endure—and to find joy—persists.

Roxanne Fay (Winnie) was honored with a Berkie Award by the Berkshire Theatre Critics’ Association for her portrayal of Mary Tyrone in the Bridge Street Theatre production of Long Day’s Journey Into Night (2022). She has appeared at Bridge Street in Mary Jane, Leni, The Effect Of Gamma Rays…, and in 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, Roxanne appeared as Brutus in Julius Caesar (which she also adapted for an all woman cast of 8) at The Studio 620 (FL). As a writer, Roxanne was named a 2016 Hawthornden Fellow (residence, Hawthornden Castle, Scotland) and creates work for the Dali Museum (FL) including the film, Breton And The Muse: A Midnight In Paris, focal point of the Dali’s acclaimed exhibition coordinated with Le Centre Pompidou (Paris). Roxanne is grateful and HAPPY to return to Bridge Street Theatre.

Steven Patterson (Willie) has appeared both Off- and off-off-Broadway in NYC, as well as with such theaters as South Coast Repertory, Capital Repertory Theatre, TheatreWorks/Silicon Valley, freeFall Theatre, Kaliyuga Arts, Lexington Conservatory Theatre, Chenango River Theatre, Centenary Stage Company, and the Oregon, Orlando, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Utah, Tennessee, Richmond, and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festivals. Favorite roles have included Vanya in Uncle Vanya, James Tyrone in Long Day’s Journey Into Night, August Howe in The Mound Builders, Almira Gulch in Miss Gulch Returns!, Austin Wiggin in The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World, Jake Sturdy in Kill Me Now, Lear in King Lear, David in Poor Super Man, Judi Boswell in How to Pray, Giovanni in ’Tis Pity She’s A Whore, Zach in A Chorus Line, Michael Williams in Henry V, and Rob in King of the Crystal Palace. He also created, performed, and toured internationally for four years with his own one-man play Beauty, inspired by the life and works of Jean Genet. He currently resides in Catskill, NY, where he is co-founder (with his husband John Sowle) of Bridge Street Theatre.

Matthew Earnest (Director) directs new plays, reimagined classics, musicals, opera, and his own original works and literary adaptations across the US, in NYC, on tour, and in festivals internationally. These include Wanderlust: a History of Walking, which he adapted and directed with a commission from the NEA, Himmelweg (Off-Broadway, New York Times Critics Pick), On the Verge… (Dallas Theater Critics Forum Award; Best of Dallas, Dallas Observer), blood pudding (Audience Favourite Award, Dublin Festival Fringe), …don Quixote (Local Production of the Year, Fort Worth Weekly), Peter Pan (Innovator of the Year, Cleveland Scene; Director of the Year, Cleveland Plain Dealer), Dead Letter Office (Best of the Berkshires), Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Achievement in Directing, Carolina Curtain Call), among many others. His work has been featured in American Theatre magazine and The New Yorker, and he has taught at many universities, including Marymount Manhattan College, The University of Rochester, The University of Delaware, and The University of Southern Mississippi, where he recently completed his tenure as Head of the MFA Directing Program. A member of SDC since 2007 and a published playwright, Matthew holds an MFA in Directing from York University, Toronto. His husband is award-winning scenic and costume designer Will Bezek. matthewearnest.com