What happened to Mr. Joy? A Harlem community is disrupted when the Chinese immigrant’s shoe repair shop, a neighborhood pillar for decades, does not open its doors. Nine customers, ranging from 11-year-old Clarissa, a budding shoe designer, to Bessie, a “gangsta granny,” reflect on the shop owner’s impact in this moving exploration of one community’s efforts to heal in order to dream again. Mr. Joy stars actor and vocalist Tangela Large.
Daniel Beaty is an award-winning actor, singer, writer, and composer. His critically acclaimed plays Emergency, Through the Night, Mr. Joy, Breath & Imagination, and The Tallest Tree in the Forest have been performed at venues ranging from leading theaters and concert halls to maximum security prisons to the White House. Honors for off-Broadway and regional productions of his plays include two NAACP Awards for Best Actor, two Audelco awards for Outstanding Solo Performance, and an Obie Award for Off-Broadway Excellence in Writing & Performing.