About the Show

59E59 Theaters and Ricochet Collective present a battle of the sexes as a young couple find themselves in the unlikely position of having to choose a gender for their child.

Newlyweds Darren and Janet want nothing more than to build the perfect life together. With matching hand towels, quirky neighbors, and a love that beats everyone else’s, they are easily the happiest couple on the block. But when Janet gives birth to a baby with both male and female genitalia, their superficially ideal world falls apart. Can Darren and Janet live happily ever after? Can they figure out what to do about their child? And can they overcome the odds and finally win a game of charades?

Critic Reviews (7)

"Not for an instant does 'Happily After Ever' lapse into didacticism…By turns whimsical, campy, hallucinatory and poignant, it nods to scads of classic sitcoms, unfolding in a Technicolor world...There are next-door neighbors in the mix, and this is where the play falls short. Even in this satire, you have to believe the secondary couple are a pair, yet they have no chemistry. Because they’re not credible, neither is the social pressure they exert, and the play loses an important dimension."
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"Parody creates a way to successfully poke fun at societal gender roles, but it does not provide the best set up for exploring a serious issue fraught with emotion. All of the characters are so one-dimensional that it is difficult to feel any empathy for their dilemma...The actors excel in their roles, augmenting their laugh inducing cluelessness with physical comedy. 'Happily After Ever' might be uneven, but it does bring to light some important issues all while inducing plenty of chuckles."
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"The strength of Zlatos’ work is her theme: our mindless adherence to antiquated cultural gender mores...Director Sherri Eden Barber has fine-tuned the pacing and progression of character development from naïve, blissful innocence toward Janet’s and Darren’s profound and desperate realization that their lives together are not what they imagined or desired. This is most potent in the beginning and in the last third of the play. There are lags and dead spots...The ensemble works well together."
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"An incredibly entertaining night of theater that takes a satirical look at the ways we think about gender...The flawless cast are adept at handling their choreographed moments for comical purposes that never floundered into overacting...'Happily After Ever' brings you into the confused inner psyche of its characters, then throws you quickly back into realism, keeping you beguiled from beginning to end."
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"A hilarious new play by Brooklyn native Laura Zlatos...Love and fear face off with each other in this witty sitcom-like battle of the sexes. The stylistic staging is beautifully helmed by Sherri Eden Barber and crisply played by the accomplished actors, never missing a beat in an entertaining little gem...Everything merges perfectly on the little stage."
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"Laura Zlatos’ script is larger than life, it’s goofy and fun but at the same time addresses buzzy topics in a nonthreatening way that doesn’t feel forced...The cast commits fully to the wackiness and for the most part really nails the style...'Happily After Ever' is a sugar-coated cartoon of a play that will make you laugh but then might lead you to examine that laughter and whether what caused it was funny or actually really tragic."
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"Director Sherri Eden keeps up the quickly paced dialogue...The chemistry between the couples falls a bit flat. However, the overall performances of the actors are engaging and keep the audience giggling throughout...'Happily After Ever' is an enjoyable show with easy and lighthearted jokes. Shining light on the daily life of a struggling couple, their neighbors, and a talking dog helps the audience become aware how gender and sex heavily influence the way people think and act."
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