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Wild with Happy

By: Colman Domingo
Narrated by: Colman Domingo, Alex Newell, Sharon Washington, Tyler James Williams, Oprah Winfrey
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Publisher's summary

Sometimes our world unravels around us all at once. And when it does, the best thing we can do is take a step back and laugh. Laugh a lot.

From the brilliant comedic and emotive mind of Oscar and Tony Award nominee Colman Domingo (Rustin, The Color Purple, and Euphoria) comes the deeply imaginative dark comedy about death Wild with Happy. It is performed by an all-star cast including Domingo, the legendary Oprah Winfrey, Tony Award nominee Sharon Washington (New York, New York), Tony Award winner Alex Newell (Glee, Shucked), and Golden Globe Award winner Tyler James Williams (Abbott Elementary).

Gil (Domingo) is a struggling NYC actor who heads home to Philadelphia after the passing of his mother, Adelaide (Winfrey). The plan is to tidy-up her affairs as quickly and efficiently as possible, until a few unpredictably hilarious detours ensue. With his Aunt Glo (Washington) insisting on a proper burial, but an urn of ashes already in his hand, Gil gets thrown into a car by his best friend (Newell). Aunt Glo and the funeral director (Williams), now Gil’s lover (yes, that happened), follow in hot pursuit. Several states later they all reach their final destination, and Gil’s mom’s final resting place: the one place on earth that made her wild with happy.

Be advised. This is a beautifully crafted, immersive listen. There is a good chance you may find yourself laughing and crying at the same time. Enjoy the ride that we all don’t want to take but will be so very wild with happy that we did.

©2013 Colman Domingo (P)2024 AO Media, LLC
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Wild with Happy with Colman Domingo and Sharon Washington

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About the Creator and Performer

Colman Domingo has been nominated for an Oscar, BAFTA, Tony, Critics Choice Awards, Independent Spirit, Gotham Awards, Lawrence Olivier, Drama Desk, Drama League, NAACP Image, and Black Reel Award. He has won an Emmy, Astra, AAFCA, NAACP Image, and Black Reel Award.
In 2023, Domingo starred as Civil Rights leader Bayard Rustin in Netflix and Higher Ground’s film Rustin, for which he received an Academy Award nomination, Golden Globe, BAFTA, and SAG nomination. He can also be seen as “Mister” in the Warner Bros. production of The Color Purple, which received a SAG Ensemble nomination. Domingo produced and stars in Greg Kwedar’s film Sing Sing, which premiered at TIFF this past September and was purchased for distribution by A24 and will have its theatrical release in 2024. He also executive produced It's What's Inside, which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and will be released by Netflix later this year.
Domingo is well known for his Emmy Award-winning role as “Ali” in HBO’s Euphoria as well as his roles in Zola, If Beale Street Could Talk, Selma, Candyman, and many more. Domingo and his husband, Raul Domingo, have produced a myriad of work under their Edith Productions banner. He has also co-produced the Pulitzer Prize-winning and Tony-nominated play Fat Ham. Domingo co-wrote, produced, and starred in the Academy Award shortlisted animated short film New Moon as well as the award-winning short North Star.
This fall, Domingo will be seen as the lead in the limited series The Madness created by Clement Virgo for Netflix. He also recently wrapped production on Michael, playing Joe Jackson, directed by Antoine Fuqua. Lionsgate will release the film April 25, 2025.

About the performer

2023 TIME Magazine Breakthrough of the Year Alex Newell made history in 2023 as the first nonbinary-identifying actor to receive a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actor for their role as “Lulu” in Broadway’s Shucked. Last year, Alex was also awarded recognition in both the Variety New Power of New York List and the 2023 TIME 100 Next list.
Alex can soon be seen starring in Simple Favor 2 for Lionsgate/Amazon for director Paul Feig.
Alex Newell first garnered attention on the screen in FOX’s critically acclaimed series Glee as transgender student Wade “Unique” Adams. Breaking barriers and challenging gender norms at a time when the conversation around gender identity was not widely accepted, Alex has remained one of the leaders in the quest for equality.
Shucked was merely their second turn on the Broadway stage, a followup to their time in the Tony-winning Once on This Island. Alex yet again draws raves nightly with their standout solo “Independently Owned.” Alex also has an impressive list of TV credits, including Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, along with the Emmy-nominated Christmas special on Roku, as well as Our Kind of People, and Fox’s Empire, and Glee. Alex has received several award nominations, including Critics Choice, Gold Derby, Screen Actors Guild, and Hollywood Critics Association. While part of the cast of Once on This Island Alex earned a Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theater Album and won a Tony for Best Revival of a Musical.

About the performer

Sharon currently guest stars on Power Book III: Raising Kanan as the family matriarch Joyce Thomas. Upcoming film and television appearances include the new film Sing Sing starring Academy Award nominee Colman Domingo and Joker 2: Folie À Deux. Other recent credits: the award-winning short film Birdwatching co-starring Amanda Seyfried, and the Academy Award-winning Joker. She has also had recurring guest star roles on Bull, Madam Secretary and Blue Bloods.
You may also recognize her voice as the narrator of several documentary series for Animal Planet, Discovery and NOVA.
On Broadway, Sharon appeared in The Scottsboro Boys musical. Off-Broadway credits include originating the roles of Aunt Glo and Adelaide in Wild with Happy (Public Theater/NYSF - Lucille Lortel nomination and Audelco Award) and Dot (Vineyard Theater), both written by Colman Domingo. She was most recently seen as Queen Margaret to Danai Gurira’s Richard III in the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park production, which was also presented on PBS’s Great Performances. She has appeared in numerous other off-Broadway and regional theater productions.
As a writer, Sharon was nominated for a 2023 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical as co-writer of New York, New York. She made her debut as playwright at City Theatre with the world premiere of her solo play Feeding the Dragon, which subsequently played at Hartford Stage and made its off-Broadway debut at Primary Stages, where she was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award, a Lucille Lortel Award, and won an Audelco Award. She was the Primary Stages 2017-18 Tow Foundation Playwright-in-Residence. Feeding the Dragon is currently available as an Audible Original and was selected as an Audible Essentials Top 100 pick. It is published by Oberon Books. Sharon is currently working on a picture book adaptation of her story The Little Girl Who Lived in the Library for Scholastic.
Sharon holds an MFA from the Yale School of Drama and a BA from Dartmouth College. She currently sits on the boards of The Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth, Girl Be Heard, and the Theatre Gap Initiative

About the performer

Tyler James Williams is the two-time Emmy-nominated and Golden Globe winner for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical, Comedy or Drama for his role as Gregory Eddie in the hit award-winning series Abbott Elementary. After hitting it off with Quinta Brunson on A Black Lady Sketch Show, she specifically wrote the Abbott Elementary substitute teacher character with Williams in mind. He can also be seen recurring in the sketch comedy History of the World: Part II. Perhaps most notably, Williams was discovered at the age of four for Chris Rock’s Everybody Hates Chris, which he starred in for four seasons.
On the feature film side, Tyler can be seen in the critically acclaimed film The United States Vs. Billie Holiday (2021), playing Lester “The Prez” Young, alongside Andra Day, who received an Oscar nomination for her turn as Billie Holiday. Previously, Williams co-starred in the indie comedy The Argument directed by Robert Schwartzman, and starred in The Wedding Year (2019) opposite Sarah Hyland. He played a pivotal part in Kathryn Bigelow’s Detroit (2017) alongside Will Poulter. Williams also had a starring role in the Sundance-winning feature Dear White People (2014). In addition, he appeared opposite Craig Robinson and Kerry Washington in Peeples (2013) for Lionsgate, and in Paul Feig’s Unaccompanied Minors (2006) for Warner Bros.

About the performer

Oprah Winfrey is a global media leader, producer, philanthropist, actress and author. Over the course of her esteemed career, she has created an unparalleled connection with people around the world, making her one of the most respected and admired figures today. For 25 years, Winfrey was host and producer of the award-winning talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, engaging in a range of multifaceted cultural conversations. Currently, Oprah oversees Harpo Productions, serves as chairman and CEO of OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, is the founder of O, The Oprah Magazine and digital companion site OprahDaily.com, and hosts the award-winning podcast Super Soul.

Interview: Colman Domingo’s "Wild and Happy" finds the magic, healing, and humor in grief

''...we've always sort of had to redefine ourselves, so we redefine ourselves in music and with language'
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  • Wild with Happy
  • ''...we've always sort of had to redefine ourselves, so we redefine ourselves in music and with language'

Colman Domingo Answers the Audible Questionnaire

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What listeners say about Wild with Happy

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OUTSTANDING!!!!!

This listen is one of my all time favorites.
DO NOT pass this up.
STOP reading and START LISTENING!
Brava 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾💐💐💐

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Just not for me

I really like the actors and actress involved in this performance. They were good and extra! (In a good way.) The storyline was a little disjointed and kept me wondering what instead of simply enjoying the plot. Just not for me, I would say check it out for yourself.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Aunt Glo

This was a very good & hilarious short story. It also drops aloy lot of gems if you hear past the humor.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Phenomenal casting

A world of emotions you will laugh out loud, shed a tear or two then smile again. A short story well worth just taking a moment to be still 😉

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Performances were hysterical!

Funny and to hear about family dynamics. It was the perfect ending to a wild story. I loved it!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Theatre on audio

I absolutely loved this story. Excellent performance. It was a beautifully told story of how many AA handle death and grief. 💖

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not much story but excellent performances

I didn't find the story engaging and at times annoying but the performances were generally good. Just the plot was thin.

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Fantastic

I was pleasantly surprised by the writing from Coleman and the Cast was everything. Bravo!

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Everyone’s roll

I absolutely loved the entire storyline I love each of the actors. I’m listening to Wild with Happy for the second time. Looking forward to the next story.

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Very entertaining and reflective of life and our collective hope.

Well worth the listen. Entertaining, heart touching, makes you appreciate life and enjoy the moments with loved ones.

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