Happy Birthday (Loos)
by Anita Loos

A hit of 1947 Broadway season, Happy Birthday was produced starring Helen Hayes in a Tony Award-winning performance.

Anita Loos, fondly remembered for her classic of the flapper-era, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes , has fashioned this comedic fantasy of the meek librarian who has a night on the town.

Shy and inhibited Addie Bemis works in a Newark library and has fallen in love with an unsuspecting bank teller.

On the ruse of discussing her modest savings, she braves a cocktail bar in order to meet him away from work.

When she takes the first drink of her life (and quite a few more), she sings, dances and becomes the life of the party.

The bar becomes an iridescent wonderland.

Bottles light up, the cash register plays music, street clothes become dazzling costumes, and strangers become beloved friends.

And before the night is through, Addie has vanquished a romantic rival and won her beau.