Created and Directed by Aram Kouyoumdjian

Cast:

Jade Hykush, Will Maizel, Bailey Sorrel, Robert Walters

Dates and Venues:

September 15, 2018 to October 28, 2018

Los Angeles: L.A. Central Library, Mark Taper Auditorium (DTLA); Jan Popper Theater (Schoenberg Hall), UCLA; Ararat-Eskijian Museum (Mission Hills)

Orange County: Little Theater, UC Irvine

Fresno: UC Conference Center

William Saroyan: The Unpublished Plays in Performance is a journey through six unpublished and never-before-staged works by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright – including “The Armenian Play (or Opera),” “Home to Hayastan,” and “Ouzenk Chouzenk Hai Yenk” (Like It or Not, We’re Armenians), that explore the familial and political dimensions of the immigrant experience. Accentuated with snippets of music, dance, and audience participation, the production played to capacity (and even overflow) audiences in five different venues in three cities, including the L.A. Central Library’s Mark Taper Auditorium and UCLA’s Jan Popper Theater, and garnered standing ovations in all three cities. Writing in “Asbarez,” cultural critic Ishkhan Jinbashian hailed it as “a drop-dead gorgeous tapestry of storytelling and reflection.”

Created and Directed by Aram Kouyoumdjian

Cast:

Daniel Hubbard as Levon

Heather Lynn Smith as Siran

Tavis L. Baker as Patrick

Jade Hykush as the Queen

Gregory DiPetro as the King

Dates and Venues:

October 2, 2015 to October 25, 2015 at the NoHo Arts Center (L.A.)

February 2, 2016 to February 28, 2016 at California Stage (Sacramento)

A funny, imaginative, and poignant rumination on love, war, and the burdens of history, Happy Armenians upends the world order as we know it by casting Armenia as a modern empire in a parallel version of history. But when its king has only 30 more days to live, Levon, the unexpected (and unwilling) heir to the throne, must suddenly wrestle with the world’s most delicate geopolitical crises–a war against Switzerland, the colonization of Europe, and Africa’s control of the global economy–along with his budding love for the brilliant scientist, Siran.
The play’s L.A. premiere was hailed by critics as “captivating” and “smart, fun, fresh & cleverly executed” by “an amazing technical and artistic team.” Happy Armenians garnered a Best Play (Drama) nomination from the NoHo Fringe Festival before moving on to a sold-out run in Sacramento at California Stage.