Photo Flash: Happy End Extends at ACT

Due to extraordinary ticket demand, San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater has extended the run of the Bertolt Brecht/Kurt Weill musical Happy End. The production, directed by ACT Artistic Director Carey Perloff and choreographed by Tony Award nominee John Carrafa, will now close Sunday, July 16.

The critical praise for Happy End has been outstanding. The San Francisco Chronicle declares "Perloff's dynamic staging and strong cast make it provocative and entertaining," while The Contra Costa Times says the production "has the feel of something Broadway-bound."

Set in a mythical gangland Chicago on the cusp of the Roaring Twenties, Happy End follows the struggle of passionate Salvation Army lieutenant Lillian Holiday to save the soul of down-and-out mobster Bill Cracker, whose gang is led by the mysterious Lady in Grey (also known as "The Fly"). Like The Threepenny Opera before it, Happy End pairs Brecht's biting and witty social satire with a thrilling score from Weill.

Tickets, priced $25-$80, are available by calling ACT. Ticket Services at 415-749-2228 or online at www.act-sf.org.  The ACT Geary Theatre is located at 415 Geary Street, San Francisco.  Happy End is the final production in ACT's 2005-06 season. Subscriptions for the 2006-07 season, the company's 40th anniversary, are available now. 

Photos by Kevin Berne

Sam "Mammy" Wurlitzer (Jack Willis), Johnny "Baby Face" Flint (Justin Leath),
Bob "The Professor" Marker (Rod Gnapp), and Jimmy "The Reverend" Dexter
(Charles Dean) grab a look at the day's headlines at their hideout. 

Gang leader The Fly (Linda Mugleston) shows off the two tools of her trade,
including her cigarette, the lighting of which means your time is up. Her cronies,
The Reverend (Charles Dean) and The Professor (Rod Gnapp), look on.

Hallelujah Lil (Charlotte Cohn) sings "The Sailors' Tango" to
Bill Cracker (Peter Macon).

Broadway veteran Linda Mugleston plays the mysterious
Lady in Grey, aka "The Fly."

Peter Macon portrays the formidable Chicago mobster Bill Cracker.

Sab Shimono plays Dr. Nakamura, aka "The Governor," the gang's second
in command and definitely a man with more than a few tricks up his sleeve.

The ensemble of Happy End performs the rousing final number, an ironic homage
to bankers and industrialists whose behavior may or may not be on par with that of the gangsters. 

Charlotte Cohn (center) plays Lillian "Hallelujah Lil" Holiday, a Salvation Army
lieutenant who attempts to turn the gang from their violent ways, only to fall in
love with their most dangerous member, Bill Cracker.

The most unlikely pair of lovers in all of Chicago: gangster Bill Cracker
(Peter Macon) and Salvation Army lieutenant Hallelujah Lil (Charlotte Cohn).

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