Sept 22 – Oct 18, 2015

By Daniel Beaty, Starring Tangela Large

What happened to Mr. Joy? A Harlem community is shaken when Mr. Joy, a Chinese immigrant whose shoe repair shop has been a neighborhood pillar for decades, is the victim of an attack. Through the lens of Mr. Joy’s customers, from the bubbly eleven-year-old Clarissa (who captured everyone’s heart in Daniel Beaty’s Emergency) to the sincere and savvy “gangsta granny” Bessie, we learn the profound yet unassuming impact the shop owner has had on each of their lives. Playwright and ArtsEmerson Artist-in-Residence Daniel Beaty (Breath & Imagination, Emergency) returns with another moving reflection on transforming pain into power, this time through the virtuosic performance by acclaimed actress Tangela Large. A poignant, funny and stirring solo piece, Mr. Joy invites us to consider how we respond to violence as individuals and as a community, and the power of the invisible ties that bind us all.

Presented by ArtsEmerson at the Emerson/Paramount Center
Tickets start at $25. For more information, visit artsemerson.org