Washington Stage Guild Presents Beckett's 'Happy Days'

Washington Stage Guild brings Samuel Beckett's acclaimed tragicomedy "Happy Days" to the Undercroft Theatre for a limited engagement from January 29 through February 22, 2026. The production marks a significant return to Beckett's work for the company as it celebrates its fortieth season, with founding company members Lynn Steinmetz and Bill Largess leading the cast.

Happy Days presented by Washington Stage Guild at Undercroft Theatre

First premiered in 1961, "Happy Days" stands as Beckett's final full-length play and has remained one of the most challenging and rewarding roles in modern theatre. The play centers on Winnie, a woman in her fifties who finds herself inexplicably buried waist-deep in a mound of scorched earth under a relentless sun. While her husband Willie dozes nearby, Winnie fills her days with familiar routines, chattering endlessly and reminiscing about better times in what resembles a vaudeville performance for an audience of one. When a bell rings, the cycle begins anew. The play's central mystery—whether Winnie is trapped in this existential loop or free to leave—forms the core of Beckett's absurdist meditation on the human condition.

Lynn Steinmetz takes on the demanding role of Winnie, bringing decades of experience to this tour-de-force performance. A founding member of Washington Stage Guild, Steinmetz has portrayed an impressive range of characters at the company over the years, from Catherine Petkoff in "Arms and the Man" to Kitty Warren in "Mrs. Warren's Profession." Her distinguished career spans more than forty years and includes performances at Arena Stage, Woolly Mammoth, Olney Theatre Center, Round House Theatre, and the Kennedy Center. Trained at Catholic University of America and The Juilliard School, Steinmetz brings the technical skill and emotional depth necessary to navigate Beckett's complex character work.

Bill Largess, who serves as Washington Stage Guild's artistic director, appears as Willie. As another founding member of the company and its longtime dramaturg since 1986, Largess has shaped the Guild's artistic vision for nearly four decades. His previous Beckett work at the company includes playing Hamm in "Endgame" during the 2022-23 season. Largess has also performed at numerous regional theatres and earned five Helen Hayes Award nominations for his work, including productions at the Stage Guild.

Director Alan Wade returns to Washington Stage Guild with a production history deeply connected to this particular play. Wade directed the company's original 1990 production of "Happy Days" featuring the late June Hansen, and also helmed their production of "Endgame" with Largess. His connection to Beckett's work extends beyond directing—his one-man show "I," drawn from Beckett's prose, premiered at Chicago's Victory Gardens Theatre in 1977 and toured to Baltimore and Boston. After a forty-year career as a faculty member at George Washington University where he directed thirty productions, Wade brings an academic rigor and performance experience to this revival.

In his director's notes, Wade reveals that "Happy Days" originated from a friend's suggestion that Beckett write a happy play following "Endgame." Wade frames his approach as exploring the work as a play about marriage while honoring all of Beckett's thematic interests. He describes Winnie as both an individual woman and a representative of humanity at large, calling her a heroine doing her best against insurmountable odds—including her husband Willie.

Artistic Director Bill Largess notes that Stage Guild audiences have previously embraced Beckett's challenging dark humor in productions of "Endgame" and "Sam & Dede," making a return to "Happy Days" after many years a fitting tribute to the company's history in its landmark fortieth season.

The production features scenic design by Megan Holden, costume design by Cody Von Ruden, lighting design by Marianne Meadows, and sound design by Marcus Darnley. Elaine Randolph serves as stage manager with Luca Maggs as assistant stage manager.

"Happy Days" has earned critical acclaim as one of the most unsettling and unforgettable plays in the modern canon. The Washington Post praised it as a marvelously constructed tragicomedy that showcases Beckett's skills as a portraitist who drapes vigorous flesh on what might otherwise be bloodless conceits. The play continues to resonate with audiences as a strangely beautiful attempt to grapple with the fragility of time and the fleeting poetry of optimism.

Theatre enthusiasts seeking intellectually rigorous work and fans of Beckett's singular voice won't want to miss this rare opportunity to experience one of modern drama's most distinctive and challenging works performed by two of Washington Stage Guild's founding artists.