WILD WITH HAPPY Winning Rave Reviews at Center Stage, Closes June 29

Wild with Happy is the joyous new comedy by Tony nominee Colman Domingo that is currently kicking off summer and the end of Season 51 at Center Stage. Now playing through June 29, the production is earning strong reviews from critics and audiences. The Baltimore Sun says the show is "priceless," "dynamic," an "endearing comedy...spiced with sharp humor," while Maryland Theatre Guide calls it "a perfect show."

"It's a fantastic comedy that has as much tenderness as it does brilliant humor," says Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah. "We have been thrilled by the glowing responses we have received for this show; it's always nice to end on a high note."

Running at a cool 90 minutes, Wild with Happy invites theatergoers to enjoy an air-conditioned respite from the Baltimore humidity, plus enjoy the show-inspired "Happily Ever After" specialty cocktail at the Center Stage bar. Additionally, an engaging lobby installation, Global Sister Cities, is on display through June 29. Featuring original videos created by artists in five peer cities across the world - Durban, Glasgow, Ho Chi Minh City, Detroit, and Reykjavik, the installation examines the role of art in public discourse.

Leading the cast of Wild with Happy is Forrest McClendon as the cynical, out-of-work actor Gil. Mr. McClendon has appeared in numerous regional productions, and was a Tony Award nominee for his role in The Scottsboro Boys, opposite playwright Colman Domingo. Playing Gil's outrageous Aunt Glo (as well as the spirit of his recently passed mother), is Stephanie Berry, whose performances at Center Stage have received overwhelmingly positive reviews. Tim Smith of The Baltimore Sun writes, "Domingo gave Adelaide and Glo the best material in the play, and Berry makes the most of that gift, conjuring up two distinct, equally adorable personalities." DC Theatre Scene proclaims "Berry's tour de force performance as Aunt Glo shoots the show into a stratosphere of comic outrage." Broadway World notes that on the whole "the cast is outstanding."

"It's been an incredible season of theater at Center Stage this year. And while we're sad to see it come to a close, it's going out with a bang," says Baltimore Fishbowl.

Wild with Happy closes Sunday, June 29. Tickets start at $19 and can be purchased by calling 410.332.0033 or visiting www.centerstage.org.

About Center Stage

Under the leadership of playwright, actor, and director Kwame Kwei-Armah OBE (Artistic Director) and national arts leader Stephen Richard (Managing Director), Center Stage is an artistically driven institution committed to engaging, entertaining, and enriching audiences of today and tomorrow through joyous and bold performance. Hailed by The Wall Street Journal as "a model of what regional theater can and should be," Center Stage has, for more than 50 years, dedicated itself to exploring new works and bringing classics to life. This rich history is marked by critically acclaimed new works that have shaped the American theater; from the Tony Award-winning The Triumph of Love to World Premieres such as Miss Evers' Boys by David Feldshuh and On the Verge by Eric Overmyer. In 2013, Center Stage's unprecedented presentation of the Tony Award-winning Clybourne Park in repertory with the World Premiere of Kwei-Armah's Beneatha's Place sparked dialogue, drew international media attention, and became the subject of a nationally broadcast PBS documentary, "A Raisin in the Sun Revisited: The Raisin Cycle at Center Stage." With its signature focus on civic and community engagement, Center Stage, The State Theater of Maryland, enters its second 50 years with a commitment to exploring how art and entertainment communicate in the 21st century and to igniting conversation in Baltimore and beyond.

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