Seattle Public Theater's The Happy Ones: This Tear-jerker May Leave You Smiling

Change is the only constant. This too shall pass, we are always told, and the wise amongst us are able to hold on to this truth in times of adversity. The wiser still, remember it even during times of prosperity and joy. Walter Wells is not one of them.

"This is living. This is the dream right here. We got it," says Walter (K. Brian Neel) about five minutes into the first act of The Happy Ones by Julie Marie Myatt, receiving its Northwest premiere at Seattle Public Theater through April 10th. Soon, his seemingly perfect life with his perfect family comes to an abrupt, crashing end when his wife and both children are killed in a car accident.

The Happy Ones is a play about happiness found, and lost, and the process of recovering from a profound personal tragedy none of us ever want to experience, and can only imagine what it's like for others - except, there is not one, but two of these grieving, recovering men. ReAct Theatre's Artistic Director David Hsieh makes a rare on-stage appearance as Bao Ngo, a Vietnamese refugee who drives up the wrong way on a highway exit ramp causing the accident that kills Walter's family, but survives himself. As the play progresses we learn more about his loss and a seemingly failing attempt to reclaim normalcy in his own life.

Macall Gordon, K Brian Neel and Shawn Law in The Happy Ones. Photo: Paul Bestock.

This is dark, almost depressingly serious subject matter, reminiscent of other plays of loss and tragedy like God's Ear and Rabbit Hole that we have seen on local Seattle stages in recent years. Ms. Myatt handles the subject matter delicately, with just enough comic relief placed intermittently to keep the "dramedy" sustainable and the audience engaged.

Most of this comic relief comes through the characters of Mary-Ellen Hughes (Macall Gordon) and Minister Gary Stuart (Shawn Law) - both delivering impressive performances. Mary-Ellen knows who she is, and where she is. Gordon plays her with sincerity, allowing her advice and efforts to help Walter - even if misguided - seem genuine lessons learned from her past. Gary too is well aware of how wrong he is for the life he's fallen into. Unfortunately we never discover why he became a Minister, or why despite that chosen profession he is so unprepared to help his friend through a time of personal tragedy. Together, Law and Gordon entertain effortlessly while maintaining the gravity and substance of two damaged, real people, on their way to moving on - or at least trying.

The stand out performance of this production by far is David Hsieh. We've seen his directorial work frequently, but in this relatively rare on-stage performance, Hsieh plays a displaced medical doctor, now relegated to working night shifts in a bakery. From the very first appearance, this guilt ridden, helpless man's plight is touching, and the anguish of an immigrant in a foreign land is palpable. Hsieh brings a great mix of strength of character, and vulnerability of an optimist trapped in a waterfall of tragedy, giving us an insight into why an unlikely friendship between these two men is not just conceivable, but inevitable.

David Hsieh in The Happy Ones. Photo: Paul Bestock.

Neel's Walter unfortunately is less impressive - partly because Ms. Myatt doesn't really give us much of a chance to experience how full and happy Walter's life was before it was all snatched away from him, making it harder for us to feel his loss, and partly because Neel fails to make a convincing transition to a man devastated and destroyed. He is grief stricken, yes, and perhaps even confused. But what's really going through his mind in those silent, staring moments is not always discernible.

Director David Gassner keeps the pace moving, and transitions quick (and that's a good thing, for there are quite a few), while giving enough time for the tender moments to take shape and develop. Set, costume and sound design all give us a reason to chuckle - perhaps with nostalgia for those who personally experienced 1975-76 somewhere in suburbia, or with contempt, for those too young to know it from anywhere other than That '70s Show.

Change is, ultimately, the only constant, and Ms. Myatt's foursome do manage to get on the road forward. This sad but in the end uplifting story leaves us wishing the best for these travelers in their journeys ahead.

Thursday - Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2:00 p.m. through April 10 // Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse Theater, 7312 West Greenlake Drive North // $15-25, tickets available here