Maybe Happy Ending

 Maybe Happy Ending
Belasco Theatre
April 14, 2026 

Photo courtesy of Maybe Hapy Ending

Maybe Happy Ending is an endearing story about the discovery of love.  Will Aronson’s score is light and charming.  The book and lyrics, by Will Aronson and Hue Park, are witty and wonderful.  The characters are robots, and their sense of humor, though unrealized by them, is crips and sharp.  Director Michael Arden brings every element of this experience together perfectly.  Dane Laffrey’s scenic and video design combine with Ben Stanton’s lighting to enhance the storytelling and draw the audience into this unique and heartwarming story. 

Oliver (played by understudy Christopher James Tamayo) is perfectly content living alone in his room.  He is a helper-bot, waiting for his owner, James (played by Marcus Choi) to come and get him.  Oliver listens to James’ jazz records and talks with his plant, HwaBoon.  There is an unexpected knock on the door, as Claire (played by Claire Kwon), a retired helper-bot from across the hall, needs assistance.  She is having a problem with her charger, and her battery is running low.  Oliver reluctantly opens the door and lets her in.  He is a Model 3.  She is a Model 5.  They are built differently, but they are both abandoned and alone. 

Photo courtesy of Maybe Happy Ending

These two helper-bots embark on a journey that takes them to a place they never knew they could go.  Christopher James Tamayo and Claire Kwon authentically discover it for the first time as Oliver and Claire.  Their chemistry, timing, and physicality are magnificent.  Mr. Tamayo portrays Oliver as quirky and stand-offish, while Ms. Kwon’s Claire is aware and direct.  They are as different as their model numbers describe, yet when they unite, it is pure magic. 

Photo courtesy of Maybe Happy Ending

Marcus Choi plays James and Junseo (James’ son).  He is genuine and personable in these roles.  Dez Duron plays Gil Brentley, a mysterious crooner, who appears at unforeseen times and mesmerizes with his silky tones.  

Maybe Happy Ending won six 2025 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.  It is a one-of-a-kind production with endearing characters and a touching message.  Go see it!  It is playing at the Belasco Theatre. 

Domenick Danza

Peace for Mary Frances

Peace for Mary Frances

The New Group

The Pershing Square Signature Center

June 16, 2018

Photo courtesy of The New Group

Lily Thorne’s play, Peace for Mary Frances, chronicles the end of life journey and the toll it takes on a family.  The New Group production is sensitive and realistic.  Director Lila Neugebauer builds on the conflict in the family dynamic that is deeply embedded in Ms. Thorne’s complex characters.  Secrets are revealed and emotions collide, yet the main character finds her peace.

Mary Frances (played by Lois Smith) is nearing ninety years of age and requires oxygen and constant care, which she receives from her daughter, Fanny (played by Johanna Day).  Her other daughter, Alice (played by J. Smith-Cameron) believes that Fanny is incapable of caring for their mother.  When the doctor finds fluid in her lungs, Mary Frances, who wishes to pass peacefully in her sleep, chooses hospice care.  Alice convinces her mother to pay her living expenses so she can move in and supervise her care around the clock.  Their brother, Eddie (played by Paul Lazar), visits once a week to maintain his mother’s finances.  His sisters are angered when they find out their mother has been paying him to do this.  Adding to the stress of the situation is the presence of Alice’s two adult daughters (played by Heather Burns and Natalie Gold).  Their memories of their grandmother are loving, which differs from the angst in the relationship between Mary Frances and her daughters.  Mary Frances has visions of her dead husband, mother, and father-in-law as she makes her peace, yet she leaves behind a family in turmoil.

Lois Smith & J. Smith-Cameron
Photo courtesy of The New Group

The play has a slow and steady pace, especially in the second act.  Fueling the action is the conflict between the two sisters.  J. Smith-Cameron and Johanna Day go at each other full force in these roles.  The history of their relationship and the stress of the situation cause their emotions to flare up in an instant.  Their portrayal of this vulnerability is truthful and genuine.  Lois Smith is warm, brave, and gutsy as Mary Frances.  The way she treats her children reflects a lifetime of experiences and forgiveness, but includes, as she says, never forgetting.  She embraces her grandchildren and looks longingly into the eyes of her great grandbaby, maintaining a connection to life up to the very end.

Johanna Day, J. Smith-Cameron, & Heather Burns
Photo courtesy of The New Group

The set, designed by Dane Laffrey, is a split level masterpiece, showing the living room, kitchen, and back porch on stage right, and Mary France’s bedroom about a half a flight up on stage left.  It is constructed as if one wall of the house opened up so the audience could peer in on this family in crisis.  Lighting designer Tyler Micoleau makes brilliant use of track lighting, chandeliers, and table lamps to enhance the realism and sense of peeking in on the lives of the characters.

Lily Thorne’s play successfully reveals the stark truths of facing the end of life, its stress, fears, and deeply embedded emotion.  Peace for Mary Frances closed on June 17. 

Domenick Danza

Summer & Smoke

Summer & Smoke

Transport Group

Classic Stage Company

May 5, 2018

Photo courtesy of Classic Stage Company

The Transport Group’s production of Summer & Smoke at Classic Stage Company is truly exquisite.  Director Jack Cummings III uncovers the nuances in every moment of Tennessee Williams’ writing.  With a practically bare stage the audience becomes enveloped by the poeticism in the words, the layers of the relationships, and the depth of the yearning.  Every minor character and occurrence is integral to the atmosphere that ignites the journey of the two main characters.  The timing and pace is sheer perfection.

Photo courtesy of Classic Stage Company

Alma (played by Marin Ireland) has been in love with her neighbor John (played by Nathan Darrow) since childhood.  When he returns from medical school, she plays hard to get as John flirts for her affection.  Alma suffers from panic spells caused by family pressure and the expectation to be a proper Southern “lady” and a dutiful minister’s daughter.  John perceives this as rejection and begins keeping company with Rosa Gonzales (played by Ellen Hurst).  His drinking and gambling brings him on a quick downward spiral.  The tables turn when Alma offers herself to John after a tragic family event, but it is too late for Alma to find her happiness.

Nathan Darrow & Marin Ireland
Photo courtesy of Classic Stage Company

This play depends on the chemistry between Alma and John, and Marin Ireland and Nathan Darrow set the stage on fire.  Their attraction is palpable from the first moment of the play.  The sparks fly in a continual push/pull between them that starts off playfully, then becomes heartfelt and troubled. Ms. Ireland fully embodies the character of Alma Winemiller, proving that she is by far Tennessee Williams' most beguiling, bewitching, and brazen of characters.  Mr. Darrow takes the character of John Buchanan through a transformation during the latter portion of the play that is tangible and truthful.

Set design by Dane Laffrey includes an opaque ceiling that filters the light and allows it to wash the space with the warmth of a Southern summer evening.  Lighting Designer R. Lee Kennedy uses this to the fullest, creating moods that enhance the emotional impact of each scene.

Summer & Smoke has been extended through May 25.  If you are a Tennessee Williams fan you MUST see this production.  If you are not too familiar with his works, this production is definitely one to lose yourself in.  Either way, get your ticket today!

Domenick Danza

This Flat Earth

This Flat Earth

Playwrights Horizons

April 1, 2018

Photo courtesy of Playwrights Horizons

Lindsey Ferrantino’s This Flat Earth is a powerful, emotional, and timely look at the effect of gun violence and school shootings on adolescents.  The Playwrights Horizons production is stunning.  Director Rebecca Taichman rhythmically builds the action of the scenes to gradually peel back the truths and realities of the characters.  Her cast is magnificent, each finding the heart in the words of these well written characters.  The two level set by Dane Laffrey is slick and clean, keeping the transitions smooth and concise.

Ian Saint-Germain & Ella Kennedy Davis
Photo courtesy of Playwrights Horizons

Julie (played by Ella Kennedy Davis) and Zander (played by Ian Saint-Germain) are preparing to return to school after a shooting took the lives of some of their classmates.  Her father, Dan (played by Lucas Papaelias), helps Lisa (played by Cassie Beck) distribute the popcorn her daughter sold for a fundraiser for the school orchestra.  Lisa’s daughter, who played the cello, was killed in the school shooting.  When Julie and Zander see her, they are unable to look her in the eye.  Julie exhibits other signs of trauma, such as quick responses to loud noises and an emotional response to the sound of her upstairs neighbor, Cloris (played by Lynda Gravatt), playing recordings of cello music.  When Julie is forced to transfer schools, she confronts her trauma by asking simple and direct questions.  She gets answers to most of them, yet one remains unanswered and unresolved.

Lynda Gravatt, Lucas Papaelias, & Ella Kennedy Davis
Photo courtesy of Playwrights Horizons

The actors in this cast create vulnerable characters and honest relationships that are engaging on a deep emotional level.  Ella Kennedy Davis has the perfect balance of spunk and naiveté as Julie.  Ian Saint-Germain is open and sincere as Zander.  Their connection is genuine and delicate.  Lucas Papaelias portrays Dan as a concerned and caring father, focused on providing his daughter with the best structured environment he can.  His intentions are sincere and his shortcomings are real.  Cassie Beck’s Lisa is in the middle of an emotional breakdown due to the unfathomable and violent loss of her daughter.  She creates a true sense of empathy with the audience.  Lynda Gravatt’s portrayal of Cloris, the curmudgeony upstairs neighbor, is strong and grounded.  Her timing and interpretation of the play’s closing monologue is direct, poignant, and perfectly delivered.  Live music performed by cellist Christina H. Kim graciously enhances the production since, as the Cloris explains, the cello expresses the full range of human voice and emotion.  

Given recent events in Florida and the student protests across the country, the timing and relevance of this production is uncanny.  The glimpse into the thoughts of the two teenagers (Julie and Zander) and the pain of the victim’s mother (Lisa) offers a very personal insight that we do not see on news coverage of such events.  This play stops the noise of the protests and political rhetoric and allows us to grasp the emotional distress that comes from direct involvement with violent incidents.  Along with the characters, you question the reasons for their occurrence and understand the strength it takes to move past them.    

Playwright Lindsey Ferrantino
Photo courtesy of Playwrights Horizons

Lindsey Ferrantino has written a masterpiece, reflecting the vulnerability of human experience told through truthful relationships.  The only other play I have seen this season that achieves this with skill and grace is Amy and the Orphans, also written by Ms. Ferrantino.  She is a playwright to keep an eye on.  Her voice is honest, tender, and potent. 

This Flat Earth is playing at Playwrights Horizons through April 29.  You MUST see this play.  Get your tickets today! 

Domenick Danza