Life is Happy and SadJason Nodler, Songs by Daniel Johnston
World Premiere
Performances
Dec 2, 2009 -
Dec 19, 2009
The long awaited follow up to Daniel Johnston’s Speeding Motorcycle chronicles the artist’s early years in Austin
Cast & Personnel
Director
Cast
Band
Scenic Design
Costume Design
Lighting Design
Sound Design
Prop Design
Stage Manager
Booth Crew
The Play
In 2006 Catastrophic artistic director Jason Nodler created Speeding Motorcycle, a hit musical drawing from cult phenomenon Daniel Johnston’s words and music, which received praise from The New York Times, American Theatre and No Depression magazine. It premiered at Infernal Bridegroom Productions in Houston and received a second production at Austin’s Zachary Scott Theatre Center.
“One play wasn’t enough,” according to Nodler. “Daniel is so prolific and his body of work is so remarkable I feel like I could make ten of these things.”
Daniel’s early years in Austin are the stuff of legend. He arrived knowing no one in town and set about making music in a practice room at The University of Texas, where the play is set.
Where Speeding Motorcycle focused largely on unrequited love, Life is Happy and Sad concerns itself with the creative impulse and the importance of friendship.
Matt Brownlie, well known to local music enthusiasts as the frontman for bands Bring Back the Guns and Groceries, plays young Daniel. A live rock band doubles in the other roles.
Nodler created the new play during a residency at New Hampshire’s prestigious MacDowell Colony, made possible by a fellowship from The National Endowment for the Arts. He is working closely with Daniel’s best friend David Thornberry (also a character in the play) to create what he refers to as a “docu-dream play.”
“Think Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape but with Daniel Johnston songs,” Nodler says.
Johnston has received a lot of attention in recent years. He was the focus of an award-winning documentary in 2006 (The Devil and Daniel Johnston) and a featured artist in that year’s Whitney Biennial. He is the subject of an upcoming motion picture based on his life and his work is featured in a new iPhone video game. On October 6, he will release his first solo album in seven years.
Johnston famously suffers from an extreme case of manic depression.
“When most people think of Daniel Johnston, the first thing they focus on is his mental health condition,” according to Nodler. “I am focused on how his sensitivity makes him similar to the rest of us, not different. His highs and lows are recognizable to us all and his willingness to share this sort of nakedly honest work, in the face of the difficulties he’s endured, is an inspiration. This play concerns itself with the deep sadness born of loneliness and isolation and the encouragement he derives from his special friendship with David.”
The form could not be more different from Speeding Motorcycle, but the result is the same. “Audiences will laugh, they will be moved and they will leave with Daniel’s songs and, more importantly, his inspirational story, stuck in their heads for many months to come,” says Nodler.
Speeding Motorcycle sold out two runs in Houston and dozens of people were turned away at the door. Get your tickets now for Life is Happy and Sad by calling the Catastrophic offices at 713-522-2723.
The Playwright
JASON NODLER founded The Catastrophic Theatre with Tamarie Cooper in 2007. His original plays include Bluefinger: The Fall and Rise of Herman Brood, Life is Happy and Sad, Speeding Motorcycle, Meatbar, King Ubu is King, and In the Under Thunderloo. He has directed more than 50 productions in Houston, Austin, Atlanta, Providence, Pittsburgh, and New York. For The Catastrophic Theatre he directed Song About Himself, Thom Pain (based on nothing), Marie and Bruce, The Pine, Waiting for Godot, Fleaven, American Falls, Endgame, Anna Bella Eema,There Is A Happiness That Morning Is, Crave, Bluefinger, The Designated Mourner, Our Late Night, Life is Happy and Sad, Hunter Gatherers, Spirits to Enforce,The Strangerer, and Big Death and Little Death. Jason was recently awarded the Best Artistic Director Award by The Houston Press, is a NEA/MacDowell Colony fellow, a four-time MAP Fund grantee and recipient of an individual artist grant from Creative Capital. He was artistic director of Infernal Bridegroom Productions for ten years.
In the Media
Capsule Stage Reviews: A Christmas Carol, The Nutcracker, Margo Veil: An Entertainment, Life Is Happy and Sad
December 10, 2009 |
Houston Press
| Lee Williams
Life is Happy & Sad: A Roller Coaster of Artistic Anguish from The Catastrophic Theater
December 10, 2009 |
Houstonist
| Marc Brubaker
Happy and Sad serves up a slice of life
December 9, 2009 |
Houston Chronicle
| Everett Evans
