In modern-day Cape Cod, Joy, a baby boomer and proud hippie, is holding a memorial concert for the other half of her popular musical duo, Jump & Joy. When her tightly wound, conservative daughter and her sweet, rebellious granddaughter arrive from Oklahoma, sparks fly as one family seeks to find the common ground in their different values, dreams, and goals. A heartfelt and hilarious story that celebrates diversity and acceptance, Unexpected Joy weaves folk-rock, pop, and blues in bringing together a family that hasn't experienced true joy in decades.

Musical

Book and Lyrics by Bill Russell. Music by Janet Hood.

Characters: 20-25 males, 11-16 females (doubling or expanding possible.)

Unit set

A celebration of lives lost to AIDS told in free verse monologues with a blues, jazz and rock score, this piece is designed to include the community in a theatrical response to the AIDS crisis. It is often performed as a benefit for fund raising and consciousness raising.

"Dramatic."---Spectator

"Immensely powerful.... The songs are uniformly good; the final song is sensational."---Financial Times

"Bursts with humor, rage and hope."---Backstage.

"Generates a feeling of love, humanity and common cause that sends you out glowing."---Glasgow Herald