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By Rebecca Wallace

About this blog: I grew up in Menlo Park and have long been involved with both local journalism and local theater. After starting my career as an editorial intern with The Almanac, I was a staff reporter for the Almanac and the San Mateo County Ti...  (More)

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'Happy Days' are here again

Uploaded: Nov 13, 2013

A Beckett play about a woman buried up to her waist in a mound of earth may not be your cup of Orangina. But the Stanford Summer Theater production of "Happy Days" earned high praise from our reviewer and many others last summer.

Weekly critic Kevin Kirby wrote: "Those who attend expecting a conventional plot with conventional staging may be frustrated by Winnie's static plight. But for those willing to accept Beckett on his own terms, there are ample riches to be discovered." Kirby also had ample praise for Courtney Walsh, the gifted thespian who played Winnie and carried the bulk of the play as it explored humanity's feelings of existential aloneness.

Walsh has a background in the law and, as it turns out, a few linguistic tricks up her sleeve. After SST's production closed at Stanford, the troupe took the show on the road to present an unusual bilingual production of "Happy Days" in Montpellier, France.

Now SST is teaming up with Alliance Francaise of San Francisco to present two performances in the city: at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14 (in English) and Nov. 15 (in English and French). Shows are in the alliance's theater at 1345 Bush St; ticketing info is here.

Next up for SST: an Orson Welles festival starting in June. Artistic director Rush Rehm says the company plans to present Welles' theatrical adaptation in blank verse of "Moby Dick," along with a reenactment of his Mercury Theater broadcast of "The War of the Worlds."
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Comments

Posted by Anita Felicelli, a resident of Rex Manor,
on Nov 14, 2013 at 8:57 pm

Anita Felicelli is a registered user.

Rebecca, that's totally our cup of Orangina - I just wish it was down here. We couldn't go when it was here during the summer and we missed the Beckett that the ACT did in 2012 because I was too pregnant at the time. (My husband is crazy about Beckett and it's always an evening of theater well-spent for me). I'm not all that excited about most of the Bay Area play programming this year.


Posted by Rebecca Wallace, a Palo Alto Online blogger,
on Nov 15, 2013 at 9:49 am

Rebecca Wallace is a registered user.

Thanks, Anita! Sounds like I'll have to keep an eye out for future Beckett productions in our area to write about.


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