The Happiest Man on Earth
Playhouse on Park
West Hartford
September 26, 2026
The Happiest Man On Earth is a harrowing, raw, 80-minute gut punch. Based on the memoir by Eddie Jaku of how he survived the Holocaust, and adapted by playwright Mark St. Germain, it’s funny and horrifying. I found myself asking if I could have survived the same circumstances.
The production sets the mood with a sparse, harshly lit stage that’s empty save for a throw rug, two chairs, a small table and an empty glass resting atop it. Why two chairs, despite the fact the performance is a one-man show? To save space for the six million Jews, and many millions more, murdered by the Nazis. The chair remaining empty throughout the performance is a subtle but extremely effective image.
As a one-man show, the play is dependent on Robert Resnikoff’s turn as Jaku. The format highlights how gifted of an actor he is. When Resnikoff expresses the anguish of Jaku learning that his parents had been murdered after arriving at Auschwitz (and the gruesome means), or his joy at finally making a true friend through all the struggles and hiding and captures, he becomes Jaku himself.
The performance comes from deeply within Resnikoff. I “acted” in a play once in my adult life. (I place the word in air quotes because I asked the director how I should act sad, and his response was, “You don’t ‘act’ sad, you get sad.”) Acting requires the ability to tap into real emotions. I recited my lines perfectly, but I didn’t do anything resembling acting.
The advice has stayed with me because it’s also excellent writing advice. On Saturday evening it helped me to understand what I was looking at in Resinkoff. He was drawing on his own pain and sadness, bringing it forth with enough force that Jaku erupted out of him as he recounted the unimaginable for the 80 minutes he was on stage. For the second time that day. For the third time that weekend. With 29 more times to embody the stress, terror and loneliness of trying to survive.
Resnikoff carries that emotional burden onto the stage with him, and the story of Jaku comes to life through them. His momentary moments of happiness light up the stage. His shouting sounds like thunder. It was the kind of performance you must see in person, and a story that you need to hear.
NEXT
The Happiest Man on Earth continues at Playhouse on Park through Oct. 18.
Jamil goes to the new gallery at the Hartford Public Library, for real this time.
