According to Lincoln Center's new LCT3 project at its slogan, it takes "New Audiences for New Artists." It also takes new critics, hence the establishment of Theater Talk's New Theater Corps in 2005, a way for up-and-coming theater writers and eager new theatergoers to get exposure to the ever-growing theater scene in New York City. Writers for the New Theater Corps are given the opportunity to immerse themselves in the off-off and off-Broadway theater scene, learning and giving back high-quality reviews at the same time. Driven by a passion and love of the arts, the New Theater Corps aims to identify, support, and grow the arts community, one show and one person at a time.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

The Happy Idea by Maria Perez-Martinez

Little Miss Maple Leaf McCoy…living in a house with three other unforgettable characters: Angus (old and stubborn), Mrs. B. (Landlord) and Terence Harper (quite a mystery for a while). It is no wonder with names like these, and living in such a quaint little situation that life would seem happy. But as we soon find out, things are never what they seem.

It is no surprise that Maple Leaf (a name the character adopted) sounds a lot like Make-Believe and that she is not the only one in the show who pretends they live in a better world than they actually do. Angus is an old actor, struggling to write his memoirs. A man who claims he has “worked with the best of ‘em”! And Mrs. B.: an old woman whose lost her family and is desperately trying to replace them with her new tenants. Maple Leaf sings in a nightclub and tries her best to believe that she is famous. And Terrence... well he is the least like what he pretends to be.

At one point, Terrence states, “Kindness is just an idea, no one really uses it”. The parallel is immediately present. Happiness as just an idea. It doesn’t really exist at all, nor can you make it appear by pretending your life is one way when it is simply another.

This dark-comedy is cast exceptionally well and is a work of creativity and uniqueness. It speaks to all of us who many times pretend that life is exactly the way we want it to be. But as it seems, life is just one big Happy Idea.

45th Street Theatre
354 W. 45th Street
New York
212-868-4444

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