Tiffany Mann, Latrice Pace, Sheléa Melody McDonald (Photo: Joan Marcus)
OH HAPPY DAY!
By Carol Rocamora
“This is what four thousand years old looks like when you moisturize!”
So saith Holy Divine, one of the ancient three sisters in a rocking gospel-trio. And we’re off and running on another wild and wonderful Jordan E. Cooper adventure.
You remember Cooper’s last mad caper called Aint No Mo’, don’t you, when the playwright, dressed in pink as an airline stewardess, announced the last flight back to Africa for all Blacks in America? Well, this play (his second) is just as “out there.” Called Oh Happy Day!, it is indeed a happy one for audiences who are rolling in the aisles of the Public Theatre.
The Divine Sisters – named Holy, Mighty, and Glory – begin the show with a smash, cruising down the aisles of the Anspacher Theatre dressed in over-the-top blue satin gowns and heavenly headdresses (designed by Qween Jean), singing Donald Lawrence’s opening gospel/rock number. They are heavenly “guides” for those who have just died, tasked to take them through the initial steps of the afterlife. That includes Keyshawn (played by the playwright), who has just been shot three times in the chest that morning outside a motel in Laurel, Mississippi. The problem is – it’s his father’s birthday, and there’s a party at the family home. He’s got to show up, and it’s the Divine Sisters’ job to make that happen.
So Keyshawn appears in living form to join his family, including his sister Niecy (a spirited Tamika Lawrence) and her son Kevin (a gentle Donovan Louis Bazemore). But Keyshawn encounters several obstacles. First, his father Lewis (a stern Brian D. Coats) demands that Keyshawn apologize for causing Lewis to lose his job. The father/son confrontation escalates into violence until suddenly – accompanied by thunder and lightning – God appears, in the body of Kevin. (Stay with me – it even gets more complicated!) God/Kevin acknowledges that yes, Keyshawn is indeed dead, but salvation, peace and love awaits him in his family home if he does God’s bidding – namely, to build a boat and rescue his family from a storm that’s coming that very afternoon.
Donovan Louis Bazemore, Tamika Lawrence (Photo: Joan Marcus)
If this is starting to sound Biblical (as in the Noah’s Ark story), yes, it’s intentional. For this is a play about suffering, forgiveness, and redemption. Keyshawn, a drug addict and male prostitute, has posted a picture on the internet of the Pastor of the church where his father Lewis has worked for many years. The picture is of the Pastor leaving a sexual encounter with Keyshawn. The Pastor blames Lewis for his son’s having posted it, so he fired Lewis.
As I said, it’s complicated, and it gets more so. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning crashes again, and God – this time in the form of his sister Niecy – lands on the roof of the house. This gives Keyshawn a chance to blame God/Niecy for not listening to his fervent prayer to make him straight. God gets to voice His complaints, too (about human ingratitude). But He ends up repeating what He said in the form of Kevin – that Keyshawn can enter the house of peace and happiness if he builds that boat and saves his family.
And then the storm comes, followed by a moving resolution between son Keyshawn and his father Lewis. It turns out that Lewis has had a dark past (alcoholism, prison), and wants to apologize, too. And yes, in that scene, Lewis also gets a turn to play God (I told you!). What follows thereafter is yours to discover (no spoiler alert, but kudos to designer Luciana Stecconi for the final moment.)
Ultimately, this a joyful play about family and forgiveness, about fathers and sons, and, above all, about accepting oneself (as Keyshawn finally accepts his gay identity) and choosing happiness. As the Divines sing: “Mankind is the only kind/that can reset his own hard-drive.” And as God says in one of His many incarnations: “Happy is for the victim that choses victory.”
The entertainment value is huge. Lawrence’s original music is terrific (the Divines sing throughout), and the cast is superb under Stevie Walker-Webb’s energetic direction. Tamika Lawrence gives a passionate performance as the feisty sister who can love deeply and at the same time tell the truth. As Lewis, Brian D. Coats turns a complex character into a compassionate one. Donovan Louis Bazemore is the kind young Kevin whom we can count on throughout.
Above all, as Keyshawn, the irrepressible, fabulous Jordan E. Cooper gives a charismatic performance that comes straight from soul, in this heartfelt play featuring theology and personal therapy.
Jordan E. Cooper (Photo: Joan Marcus)
Meanwhile, we’re left with a lingering question: Who is God in this play, after all? Thankfully, the divine Divines – played by Tiffany Mann, Shelea Melody McDonald and Latrice Pace – reveal the mystery. “I see God in You,” they sing – to the cast, and to all of us.
At the Public Theater
425 Lafayette St.
Through November 2, 2025
