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Nobel Prize-winner Samuel Beckett’s absurdist comedy “Happy Days” kicks off PlayMakers Repertory Company’s PRC² series Sept. 8-12 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Nobel Prize-winner Samuel Beckett’s absurdist comedy “Happy Days” kicks off PlayMakers Repertory Company’s PRC² series Sept. 8-12 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Not to be confused with the 1950s adventures of TV’s Richie, Potsie and the Fonz, this comic yet poignant masterpiece is a challenging exploration of life and perseverance. The New York Times calls it “a grand, brutal metaphor for life and death … an astounding work.” “Happy Days” is “an affirmation of life, faith and joy,” a San Francisco Chronicle reviewer wrote.

Happy Days” is the story of Winnie, a woman inexplicably buried to her waist in a large, and mounting mound of earth, and her insistence, even as the mound begins to consume her, that today is going to be a good day. Rumored by his contemporaries to be Beckett’s attempt at writing a “happy play,” “Happy Days” has become an iconic exploration of hope against insurmountable odds.

Longtime PlayMakers company members Julie Fishell and Ray Dooley play Winnie and her husband, Willie.

Rob Melrose, who recently directed “Happy Days” to critical acclaim at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, will helm the PlayMakers production, bringing along scenic designer Michael Locher and composer Cliff Caruthers from the Guthrie hit show.

This is the fourth season for PlayMakers’ second-stage PRC2 series, in which each presentation combines a topical production with engaging post-show discussions with the artists.

Shows will be at 7:30 p.m. nightly and 2 p.m. on Sept. 12 in the Elizabeth Price Kenan Theatre, inside UNC’s Center for Dramatic Art on Country Club Road. Tickets are $10-$35 and may be purchased at www.playmakersrep.org or by calling (919) 962-PLAY (7529).

This season the Sunday evening performances in each PRC² production will be part of PlayMakers’ Community Nights Series, in which all tickets are $10 general admission.

Rounding out PRC2 this season are Lisa Ramirez’ one-woman show “Exit Cuckoo” (Jan. 12-16, 2011) and Joan Didion’s stage adaptation of her award-winning memoir “The Year of Magical Thinking” (April 27-May 1, 2011). Visit PlayMakers’ Web site, http://www.playmakersrep.org, for information and tickets to these shows, as well as the lineup for PlayMakers 2010-2011 main stage season. It opens with William Shakespeare’s romantic comedy “As You Like It” Sept. 22-Oct. 10.

PlayMakers is based in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences. The Drama League of New York has named PlayMakers one of the best regional theaters in America.

Support for the PRC2 series is provided by Boom! Magazine in the Triangle.

Photos: Julie Fishell: http://uncnews.unc.edu/images/stories/news/arts/2010/fishell_julieheadshot.jpg

Ray Dooley: http://uncnews.unc.edu/images/stories/news/arts/2010/dooley_rayheadshot.jpg

PlayMakers contact: Connie Mahan, (919) 428-1744, cmahan@email.unc.edu
College of Arts and Sciences contact: Kim Spurr, (919) 962-4093, spurrk@email.unc.edu

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