A Happy End August 30, 2012

"A Happy End"

A New Play by Iddo Netanyahu

Directed by Ami Dayan

Berlin 1932, days after the elections which will soon bring Hitler to power. Mark Erdmann is an acclaimed Jewish physicist, the head of the atomic lab at the University of Berlin. His wife Leah, an avid consumer of the city’s rich cultural life, is involved in an extramarital affair. The signs of impending danger are increasing, but the power of self-delusion cannot be easily overcome as the Jewish couple ponders whether to seek an unknown future outside Germany or to stay put and succumb to a fate known to us in hindsight.

"A Happy End" was first produced in Riva del Garda, Italy, for the Holocaust Memorial Day of 2008. The play was subsequently presented in Dresden, Germany, by the Shakespeare Company of Bremen, and the Beit Lessin Theatre, Tel Aviv. The play will be performed at the upcoming Uzebekistan National Cultural Festival. Mr. Netanyahu has been collaborating with director Ami Dayan, preparing the play for its US debut.

“A superb play…Shakes us to the core.” Globes (Israel)

“Four stars… Contains parallels to our own times.” Yedioth Aharonoth (Israel)

“Such a play is oxygen for our theater...” Teatro (Italy)

The production will feature the internationally acclaimed Czech actress Zuzana Stivinova. She leads a first rate local cast including Kevin Hart, James O’Hagen-Murphy, Mary Cates, Evan Duggan and Heather Taylor.

Zuzana Stivínová currently lives and performs in New York City. She has recently played leading roles in the world premiere of Vaclav Havel's play Leaving and the jazz opera directed by Milos Forman, A Walk Worthwhile. She has been recognized for her performances as Sally Bowles in Cabaret and Justine in The Mighty Magican, for which she was awarded the Radok Theatre Award. Through her distinguished career she has worked with great European theatre directors like O. Krejca and J. Grossman, playing roles from Varvara in The Cherry Orchard to Desdemona in Othello. She has been cast in leading roles in numerous motion pictures, having been nominated three times for the Czech Film Academy Award. Zuzana has strong musical roots and is herself a singer. In the last several years she has produced a series of her own concerts, performing in Europe, New York and Philadelphia.

A sample of her work can be seen at http://www.imdb.com/video/demo_reel/vi1985387033/

The Playwright: Iddo Netanyahu is an author and playwright. He has written books, short stories, and plays which have been published in Hebrew and translated into other languages. Netanyahu lives in Jerusalem and divides his time between writing and working as an MD.

The Director: Ami Dayan’s work has recently been commissioned by The Denver Center Theatre Company, The Colorado Shakespeare Festival, and The Roe Green Foundation. His free adaptation of Nobel Prize Laureate Dario Fo’s "A Tale of a Tiger" has been performed worldwide since 1994, including a celebrated Off-Broadway run, followed by a 2005 Helen Hayes Award Nomination for Outstanding Non Residential Production. Other NYC directorial credits include "The Man Himself," "Conviction," and "Masked."

A Happy End - Berlin 1932, a Jewish couple must decide on an unknown future outside Germany or to stay put when Hitler comes to power. September 1 -- 16 - (previews Aug 30 and 31 ) - Thursdays - Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 3 p.m. Buntport Theater, 717B Lipan Street, Denver. Tickets: $25; previews: $18; seniors and students $15. Group rates available. 720-289-6451 or online at www.aHappyEnd.com.