WELCOME TO HAPPYVILLE
WHERE THE MUSIC ROCKS, VOICES SOAR AND PERFECTION IS NOT WHAT IT’S CUT OUT TO BE
WHEN BELIEFS BECOME FACTS AND TRUTH IS UNDER SIEGE, SOMEONE NEEDS TO HAVE THE GUTS TO EXPOSE THE NEW REALITY.
THE HAPPYVILLE STORY
a new two-act rock-pop musical
HAPPYVILLE (formerly known as TEST The Rock Opera) is a new two-act musical that explores the zeitgeist of today along with the timeless issues of love, death and betrayal. The musical score features rock, pop and opera to bring out the powerful emotions that the story unleashes.
The musical HAPPYVILLE is set in the eponymous fictional town, where you will meet Sophie, the only citizen of Happyville who has not been genetically optimized. Sophie is a headstrong young woman who struggles to fit into the überhappy spirit of Happyville. She is on a mission to discover her place in the world.
Dr. Cunningham is the mastermind behind the gene editing, focusing her life on the pursuit of scientific knowledge. But she finds herself under enormous pressure to ensure that life in Happyville always moves along smoothly.
You will also meet Tony and Alex, identical twins who were designed to be perfect. Tony loves being perfect. Alex hates it.
Both of them fall in love with Sophie, and soon Sophie faces a dilemma where her choice will not just affect the twins but the whole town.
A fateful chain of events plunges the town into crisis, forcing Sophie to find the courage to step up and
face the challenge of her life: to help the people of Happyville to embrace imperfection.
The music in HAPPYVILLE skillfully sets the mood for each character, from the heartfelt rock ballads of Sophie
to the pop sound of Tony to the power rock of Luke, the 130-year-old drifter in Happyville who had his
life extended through gene editing and is still searching for his purpose in life.
The epic rock and beautiful melodies of Happyville will stay with you long after the show is over.
And you will leave the theater with a new perspective on the nature of happiness
and the power of gene editing to affect the lives of all of us.
a small town anywhere in the world
HAPPYVILLE
TIME Now
CHARACTERS
SOPHIE The only organically messy person in Happyville, suffers from a bipolar condition female 20 25
TONY Alex’s twin brother, designed to be perfect and loves it male 25 30
ALEX Tony’s twin brother, designed to be perfect and hates it male 25 – 30
DR. CUNNINGHAM A geneticist who is on a pure pursuit of knowledge female 35 55
LUKE A bored, self-destructive loner, age of 130 thanks to gene editing male 55-75
CONSTABLE An inhumanly incorrupt police officer female 35 55
SOPHIE’S FATHER The organic farmer of Happyville, with a demanding parenting job male 45 – 55
TIM, SOPHIE’s BROTHER A young man cured of a rare disease through gene editing male 18 23
TONY AND ALEX’S PARENTS The proud parents of the perfect twins male/female 45 55
THE BOARD An invisible higher power
HAPPYVILLE TOWNSPEOPLE, EMBRYONIC CHOIR, CONSTABLE CLONES Ensemble roles
BAND
Lead electric guitar
Rhythm electric guitar
Bass guitar
Keyboards
Drums
ORCHESTRA
Two violins
One viola
One cello
Two trombones
Two French horns
LENGTH
1st act: 50 minutes and 2nd act: 55 minutes
LANGUAGE VERSIONS
English (original) and German
BOOK AND LYRICS
Krista Jaquet and James Sievert
MUSIC
Jakob Vinje
CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS
Daniel Raaflaub and Stefan Raaflaub
CONTACT
The musical HAPPYVILLE is represented by CONCORD THEATRICALS GmbH.
For more information on staging HAPPYVILLE, please contact:
John Havu
Theatricals Consultant
Mob. +49 176 554 24 707
john.havu@concord.com
Felix Herpin
Theatricals Manager
Direct +49 (30) 2500 13-26
felix.herpin@concord.com
CONCORD THEATRICALS GmbH
Lützowufer 26, 10787 Berlin, Germany
Tel. +49 (0)30 2500 13-0,
Fax +49 (0)30 2500 13-99
theatricals.berlin@concord.com
www.concordtheatricals.de