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  George Dvorsky, David Margulies, and Michael Minarik in
The Classic Musical
THE HAPPY TIME
Music by John Kander
Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Book by N. Richard Nash
Based on a play by Samuel Taylor
Directed by Michael Unger
The rarely produced Kander and Ebb musical The Happy Time tells the story of Jacques Bonnard, a world-traveling photographer, who returns home to French-Canadian St. Pierre in search of his happy youth. Along the way, Bonnard fires up the romantic spirit of his hometown’s inhabitants and tempts his godson with dreams of escape. This classic tale of the prodigal son features a “lilting score” (New York Times) that is “melodious…in variety and scope” (Newsday).
April 1 - June 1, 2008
THE HAPPIEST TIME: A NOTE FROM ERIC SCHAEFFER
In 2002, I got a letter from a subscriber asking me to consider doing a production of John Kander and Fred Ebb’s classic musical The Happy Time. “Funny you should mention that,” I simply replied. “Just last week, I wastalking with Fred Ebb about The Happy Time and a possible future production of it at Signature.”
Last month, that same subscriber wrote me again, thanking me for making her wish come true. “You kept your word,” she wrote, and attached a Xeroxed copy of the return note that I had written her in 2002.
This second show of our Kander & Ebb Celebration is the forgotten musical The Happy Time. Some songs you will remember — others you will discover for the first time. With this astonishing cast and the talented creative team, The Happy Time should no longer be forgotten.
What a pleasure it is having so many extraordinary artists saluting the work of Kander & Ebb on both our stages! Seeing this show in tandem with Kiss of the Spider Woman and The Visit will be a rare and exciting opportunity — one I encourage you all take. You’ll realize and appreciate John and Fred’s vast canon of work and style.
Here’s to John and Fred!
Click here to buy tickets to Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Eric
THE HAPPIEST CAST
Meet the stellar cast of Kander and Ebb’s rarely produced musical, The Happy Time.
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George Dvorsky (Philippe) SIGNATURE: Funny Girl Concert. BROADWAY: The Scarlet Pimpernel, Passion, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Marilyn: An American Fable, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. OFF-BROADWAY: Pete ‘n’ Keely, Dames at Sea, And the World Goes Round. OTHER NEW YORK: Lincoln Center: Cinderella, Brigadoon. PBS: Passion, Bernstein’s Broadway. REGIONAL: A Wonderful Life, She Loves Me, Anything Goes, Seven Brides, The Full Monty, A Christmas Carol.SOLO ALBUM: In The Still of the Night. |
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David Margulies (Grandpere) BROADWAY: Wonderful Town, 45 Seconds From Broadway, Angels in America, Conversations With My Father, The West Side Waltz, Comedians, Brighton Beach Memoirs, The Iceman Cometh, and others. LOCAL: Kennedy Center: West Side Waltz; Folger: Standup Shakespeare. NEW YORK: The New Group: The Accomplices (2007 Richard Seff Award); New York Theatre Workshop: All That I Will Ever Be (2007 Richard Seff Award) and others. REGIONAL: Hartford Stage: The Rivals; Long Wharf: The Price, Rocket to the Moon, She Stoops to Conquer; McCarter: Hamlet; Mark Taper Forum: Hysteria; Centerstage: The Murder of Isaac; Buffalo Shakespeare: King Lear. FILM: Ira and Abby, Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters 2, Ace Ventura Pet Detective, Dressed to Kill, All That Jazz, 9 ½ Weeks, Running on Empty, A Jersey Tale. TV: The Sopranos (eight episodes), Law and Order (four episodes), Northern Exposure. |
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Michael Minarik (Jacques) BROADWAY: Les Miserables (revival). FIRST NATIONAL BROADWAY TOURS: Urinetown, Little Women.OFF-BROADWAY: Glimpses of the Moon. REGIONAL: Papermill Playhouse: Camelot; NYSAF: Dangerous Beauty; The Cape Playhouse: The Rink; A.C.T San Francisco: Urinetown; West Va. Public Theater: Jekyll & Hyde; Marriott Lincolnshire: Beauty and the Beast. EDUCATION: James Madison University. |
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Kate Arnold (Ensemble) SIGNATURE: Merrily We Roll Along, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (reading). LOCAL: Olney: Fiddler on the Roof; Studio Theatre Second Stage: Reefer Madness; Arena Stage: Damn Yankees; Verizon Center: Washington Wizards Dance Team;The Kennedy Center: Streets of America (New Works Festival);Toby’s: George M!, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Footloose;American University: A Chorus Line, Cabaret, Pippin, Rehearsal at Versailles, Vagina Monologues. TV: ESPN, I’d Do Anything. TRAINING: BA, American University, The Virginia School of the Arts. |
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William Beech (Schoolboy) LOCAL: The Children’s Theatre: Alice in Wonderland, Jolly Roger and the Pirate Queen, Twelve Dancing Princesses, Redwall; KMT Musical Theatre: Oklahoma! SCHOOL: Aladdin, Cinderella, The Pirates of Penzance.TRAINING: Pat Close, Alexandra Lajoux, Karen Biggs-Leeds. |
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Jace Casey (Bibi) SIGNATURE: Merrily We Roll Along (u/s Frank, Jr.); Saving Aimee (u/s Rolf); Staged Readings: Crossing; 365 Days/365 Plays. LOCAL: Ford's Theatre: A Christmas Carol (Urchin Boy, Ignorance); A Christmas Carol, White House Performance. TELEVISION: PBS: Music In The Schools (student); Friendly's Restaurant Commercial. TRAINING: Viki Forde Studios (voice and piano); Bev Benda (voice coaching); Arlington Dance Theatre (Jr. Tap and Jazz Co.); Broadway Artist's Alliance Musical Theatre Intensives (2007, 2008); Interlochen, Musical Theatre Division (2007). |
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Rafael Hernandez-Roulet (Schoolboy): REGIONAL: Montgomery Playhouse: Prelude to a Kiss, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever; Little Theater of Alexandria: The Who’s Tommy; Montgomery College: Oliver! TRAINING: Winston Churchill High School, Academy of Creative and Performing Arts; North Carolina School of the Arts, stage combat; The Stratford Shakespeare Festival; The Shakespeare Theater Company, summer program; Bethesda Academy of Performing Arts; Musical Theater Center. |
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Carrie A. Johnson (Laurie) SIGNATURE: Saving Aimee.BROADWAY NATIONAL TOUR: Les Misérables (closing tour co.), The Producers. OFF-BROADWAY: Soar Like An Eagle REGIONAL: NC Theatre: Chess; Arvada Center: Crazy For You; Carousel DT: The Secret Garden. OTHER: Songs For a New World, Guys and Dolls (Sarah Brown), WSS (Maria), Into the Woods (Baker’s Wife). EDUCATION: BME, University of Illinois. |
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Emily Levey (Ensemble) SIGNATURE: Merrily We Roll Along. LOCAL: Adventure Theatre: Go Dog. Go! Studio Theatre Second Stage: Reefer Madness; The InSeries: Fascinating Rhythms; The Washington Savoyards: Kiss Me Kate, The Merry Widow; Toby’s Baltimore: Beauty and the Beast; Interact Theatre Company: Pirates of Penzance. REGIONAL: Brooklyn Theater Arts Project: Godspell, Man of La Mancha; Gene Frankel Theater: A Little Night Music. TV: NBC: ER, Third Watch. TRAINING: BFA, New York University, Tisch School of the Arts. |
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Rob McQuay (Louis) REGIONAL: Center Stage: A Map of the World; Drury Lane: South Pacific; Everyman Theatre: Buried Child, Trip to Bountiful; Theatre-on-the-Hill: The Secret Garden; The RollAbout Theatre: The Odd Couple. LOCAL: Shakespeare Theatre: The Misanthrope; Woolly Mammoth Theatre: Wanted; Round House: Godspell (Helen Hayes nomination); Theatre Alliance: Spitfire Grill; Theater J: Shlemiel the First; Rep Stage: Buried Child, Falsettos; Open Circle: Jesus Christ Superstar (Helen Hayes nomination), Evita, Songs for a New World; Imagination Stage: Perfectly Persephone, Suessical, Junie B. Jones…; Toby’s: Godspell (Helen Hayes nomination), Ragtime (Helen Hayes nomination), Shenandoah, …Drood, Pippin, Jesus Christ Superstar; West End: Joseph…, Barnum; Hayloft: La Cage Aux Folles; Kennedy Center: Goodman’s Candy Bars. |
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Amy McWilliams (Felice) SIGNATURE: The Witches of Eastwick (Greta Neff), The Sex Habits of American Women (Joy), Nevermore (Whore), Urinetown (Josephine Strong), Zander’s Boat (Marie), In the Garden (Muriel), The Fix (Deborah Pullman), Working (Checker/Hooker/Waitress). LOCAL: Theatre J: Shlemiel the First (Mrs. Shlemiel), Rocket to the Moon (Belle Stark); Theatre Alliance: Ambition Facing West (Alma/Marija); Ford’s Theatre: Meet John Doe, A Christmas Carol; Kennedy Center: A Streetcar Named Desire (Eunice), Sunday in the Park With George (Frieda/Betty), Merrily We Roll Along (Ensemble); Keegan Theatre: Sideman (Terry), A Streetcar Named Desire (Blanche), Fool for Love (May). TV: Homicide, America’s Most Wanted. OTHER: Kennedy Center Family Theater, Theatre of the First Amendment, Charter Theatre, Imagination Stage and American Century Theater. |
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Jordan D. Moral (Schoolboy) NATIONAL TOUR: South Pacific (Jerome), Kidz Bop Live. LOCAL: Washington Savoyards: Babes in Toyland (Little Boy Blue). REGIONAL: Cinderella, The Music Man, Beauty and the Beast, Next Stop Broadway Gala. HONORS: MSMTA Vocal Competition (first place). |
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Matthew Nee (Schoolboy) REGIONAL: Little Theater of Alexandria: A Christmas Carol (Peter Cratchit, Belle Child);Colesville Players: The Shepherd’s Story (Malawk), Christmas Around the World (Narrator);Briggs Chaney Players: The Ever After (Jiminy Cricket, Sam the advertiser);Galway Players: Annie (Bert Healy), Broadway Revue (Artful Dodger). TRAINING: Mark Jaster, Martha Johns, Musical Theater Center, Marian Nee. |
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Tracy Lynn Olivera (Suzanne) SIGNATURE: Merrily We Roll Along (Mary Flynn, Helen Hayes nomination); December Divas Cabaret; Ricky, Joe and Michael John Cabaret; Last Garage Hurrah Cabaret; Allegro (Helen Hayes nomination); Follies; Side Show; Sweeney Todd; Company in concert; Mack and Mabel in concert. LOCAL: Kennedy Center: Sunday in the Park with George, Passion, Merrily We Roll Along; Ford’s Theatre: Meet John Doe, Shenandoah, A Christmas Carol, Songs from the Tall Grass; Folger Theatre: Comedy of Errors; MetroStage: Closer Than Ever, The Last Five Years; Olney: West Side Story, Grease, Carousel (Helen Hayes nomination); Rorschach: company member, Rough Magic, J.B., God of Vengeance. UPCOMING: Woolly Mammoth: Citizen Ruth. EDUCATION: Catholic University. Faculty, Catholic University. |
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Jordan Silver (Schoolboy) REGIONAL: Olney: Fiddler on the Roof, Oliver!. Colonial Players: Jekyll and Hyde. Prince George’s Little Theatre: The Secret Garden, A Christmas Carol, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. TRAINING: Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Center, Stageworkz, Theatre Arts Project. |
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Lauren Williams (Ensemble) SIGNATURE: Into the Woods (Little Red, Helen Hayes nomination), My Fair Lady (Ensemble), Nevermore (Virginia), Allegro (Mitzi), Forum (Philia, Helen Hayes nomination, Best Supporting Actress) Broadway in Ballston Concert, Kids from Catholic Cabaret and The Lost Songs of Broadway Cabaret. REGIONAL: Kennedy Center: The Phantom Tollbooth (Tock); Studio Theatre Second Stage: Reefer Madness (Mary Lane), Dog Sees God (CB's Sis; Helen Hayes nomination, Best Ensemble); Maryland Arts Festival: Cole: a Cole Porter Review (Judy Garland and Ginger Rogers), Side Show (Violet), Wizard of Oz (Dorothy), Godspell (Robin); Bear Trap Dunes: Oklahoma (Ado Annie); Vagabonds: Blood Brothers (Donna Marie). |
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Rachel Zampelli (Ensemble) SIGNATURE: Saving Aimee u/s. REGIONAL: Studio Theatre Second Stage: Reefer Madness: The Musical; Folger Theatre: A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Ford’s Theatre: Shenandoah; New Repertory Theatre: Into the Woods, Romeo and Juliet; Riverside Theatreworks: Grease, Nunsense. EDUCATION: Santa Clara University, 2004, Theatre. |
CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS TO SEE THIS STELLAR CAST.
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Michael Rupert, Robert Goulet, and David Wayne in the original Broadway production of The Happy Time |
AUDITIONING FOR THE HAPPY TIME BY BROADWAY VETERAN MICHAEL RUPERT
It’s hard to believe, but it’s been forty years since The Happy Time opened on Broadway. Forty years. Opening night was January 18, 1968, right at the tail end of Broadway’s so-called “Golden Era.” It was a good year. Fiddler on the Roof was still running, Mary Martin and Robert Preston were at the 46th Street Theater in I Do, I Do and Angela Lansbury was starring in Mame at The Winter Garden. Pearl Bailey was in Hello, Dolly at the St. James; Joel Grey was at The Palace in George M!, and a 15-year-old actor from Los Angeles was making his Broadway debut in a new musical written by N. Richard Nash and (as a follow-up to their smash hit Cabaret) John Kander and Fred Ebb. Gower Champion, of Bye, Bye Birdie fame, was the director/ choreographer, and the legendary David Merrick was producing. The star of the show was Robert Goulet, returning to The Great White Way for the first time since Camelot.
So, how did this kid from Pasadena, California get to The Broadway Theater in New York City? What was it like auditioning for my first Broadway role? I was a child actor and had been doing lots of TV and film, when late in ’67 I got a call to try out for this Broadway-bound musical, The Happy Time. Gower had seen (so the story goes) nearly 1,000 boys for the part, starting in Los Angeles some months before, then heading to New York, London, Houston, Chicago, and Atlanta until finally winding up back in LA with no actor cast. Rehearsals were scheduled to start in a couple of weeks and they were down to the wire. When I auditioned I was the second-to-last actor he saw. I remember walking into the rehearsal room with my short stack of sheet music, my pants pressed and my hair combed and the entire creative staff being there - Gower, John, Fred, Oscar, Richard and probably fifteen other staffers, assistants, casting directors, etc. Rather intimidating for a guy used to reading for movie and TV roles in a casting director’s office with maybe two others present. So, I took a deep breath, sang two songs (“Honey Bun” from South Pacific and “The Sweetheart Tree” from the movie The Great Race), read a few scenes from the script, and learned a simple dance combination. The truth was, this was only the second musical I had ever auditioned for and probably wasn’t all that skilled at it – pretty raw, but certainly a “real” kid if that’s what they were looking for. Well, the room seemed pleased. Gower, obviously, saw something in me he liked and, rather than asking me to wait outside, asked me to stay there in the room in the back while they brought the last young actor in to audition. The final boy came in. When asked what he was going to sing he looked a bit sheepish and told them he had no music. It seemed like he was embarrassed and didn’t know what to do, so, without thinking, I brought my stack of sheet music over to him and asked if there was anything there he might know (I was younger then, and maybe less jaded…). He chose something (I can’t remember now what it was), sang, and after he finished, Gower thanked him and the boy left. Everyone turned and looked at me. A couple of weeks later, they gave me the part.
I think it was John Kander who later told me one of the reasons Gower cast me was the fact that at my audition I was willing to give another actor…my competition…a helping hand. When I did it, I certainly wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I just saw a kid like me who needed help. And, apparently, that’s what Gower was looking for. That was the kind of kid Bibi was. Go figure.
Michael Rupert starred as the original Bibi in The Happy Time on Broadway and is currently in Legally Blonde on Broadway.
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