Showtimes & Tickets
$28 Advance / plus $2 service fee
$33 Day of Show / plus $2 service fee
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June 23 (Tue) 2026: 5:30 pm | 7:30 pm
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About the Show
A Tarot-inspired mystery play full of slapstick comedy, music from the middle ages, puppetry, and whimsy to drive away fear and offer relief from impending doom — just as folly brought light to the Dark Ages. As the Fool faces Death and seeks guidance, you too can consult the Oracle, be comforted by the High Priestess, trust in the Doctor if you dare, and give your troubles to the Crone.
This ensemble production is coming to us from Maryland — don’t miss the laugh-out-loud fun, fit for both adults and kids!
"Transcendent and provocative…Happenstance provides immeasurable entertainment with its comedy, music, and artistry…A characteristically compelling, intelligent, and thought-provoking hour of unique, outstanding, must-see theater."
– DC Theater Arts
Enjoyed by all ages, 3 - 103!
String, hybrid, and stomper marionettes
Length: 50 minutes
Language: English, very few words
From Rockville, Maryland!
Devised by Happenstance Theater under the Artistic Co-Direction of Mark Jaster and Sabrina Mandell
Ensemble: Gwen Grastorf, Mark Jaster, Sabrina Mandell, Sarah Olmsted, and Thomas and Alex Vernon
”Death & The Fool” was originally adapted from Happenstance Theater’s “ADRIFT | A Medieval Wayward Folly” for the Maryland Renaissance Festival, and then expanded to become this charming new touring show!
About the Artist
The Washington City Paper says, “Happenstance Theater’s ensemble comedy is a gut-busting kind of funny.” The Washington Post describes our work as “visually striking and whimsical without being precious" and calls Happenstance Theater "DC’s leading peddler of whimsy.”
Happenstance Theater, founded in 2006, is a professional company committed to devising, producing and touring original, performer-created visual, poetic Theatre. Our ensemble has been developing work together since 2012. We are eclectically skilled artists who craft all aspects of our pieces from concept to realization. Under the Artistic co-Direction of Mark Jaster and Sabrina Mandell, we harvest imagery from the past and re-contextualize it in performances that address the universal themes of mortality and the ephemeral. With the simplest means — humor, whimsy, music, silence, text, physical comedy, object manipulation, vulnerability and generosity - we seek to elevate the moment when the performers and audience meet, to lift the encounter beyond the daily and pedestrian into the realms of dreams, poetry, and art. Meaning is often found by happenstance.
In 2016 Happenstance received three Helen Hayes Awards for Outstanding Ensemble, Outstanding Costume Design and Outstanding Lead Actor. In 2017 Happenstance received two Helen Hayes Awards for Outstanding Costume Design and Outstanding Musical Direction.
