PHOTO: @jfkhappinessinc on Instagram
By Ava Sammons, Iowa contributor
Cedar Rapids Kennedy “Happiness, Inc.” is one of the Iowa's longest-tenured ensembles, with an award record dating back to at least 1985 (according to online records). This past season was Storm Ziegler's 20th as director, a big milestone for one of Iowa's consistently elite groups. In an eastern Iowa circuit laden with powerhouses from Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Davenport and the surrounding areas, Kennedy has long been part of the cream of the crop in those circles.
In recent years, Happiness has become known for their theatrical, story-style shows. Their 2023 show brought beloved TV show Mister Rogers Neighborhood to the show choir stage. The set featured songs and characters from the series, playful choreography and props, the famous trolley, and even the puppets from “The Neighborhood of Make-Believe”. Kennedy truly captured the heart of Mister Rogers Neighborhood - helping children feel better and learn important life lessons - while evoking nostalgia in members of the audience. Happiness stayed on the pop culture show trend in 2024 with their show “Camp Happiness”, based off of the 2023 film Theater Camp. The show contained well-known songs from High School Musical, Camp Rock, and Theater Camp, and showcased what Kennedy does best: entertainment.
This past season, Kennedy faced some of Iowa’s strongest show choirs. At Happiness’s first three competitions, they took home fourth place each time, placing behind a who's who of elite groups: Waukee Northwest, Linn-Mar, Ankeny Centennial and Urbandale, to name a few. However, their time came at the Cedar Rapids Jefferson Show Choir Invitational in early March. In the group's "regular season" finale, Happiness won Grand Champion and all three major caption awards. Three weeks later, Kennedy made the trip to Nashville to compete at Show Choir Nationals, where they secured a finals spot and placed sixth in a field of the nation’s most competitive show choirs.
In previous years, Happiness, Inc. has consistently scored in the top half of finalists in competition, but outright wins have been a little more sparse. A packed 2015 season saw Kennedy take home three wins (all in the greater Cedar Rapids area) and three third-place awards as well. The quantity of wins has decreased for Happiness since then, but there are several factors at play. Competitiveness in eastern Iowa (and the entire state) has grown steadily throughout the last decade. Kennedy's location in a large urban area did it no favors during the pandemic, where effective practice time was hard to come by.
This upcoming season, Kennedy is making some changes that could elevate them to a new level of competitiveness. Happiness added Lexi Robson Buglewicz to their choreography team. She will team up with veteran Kennedy choreographer Randy Sage. Buglewicz’s choreography style is certainly different from what watchers seen from Happiness in the past, enlisting more contemporary dance movement than the more traditional style they’ve previously competed. This shift in choreographers poses a few questions as to what Happiness has in store: Will their show design continue to be pop culture inspired, or change to become more generally theatrical? Will there be a visible identity shift within the group? Will the infusion of fresh blood in the creative team push Happiness to greater heights?
Kennedy's exact 2025 schedule has not been released yet, but chances are they will compete against a few - or even several - other shows choreographed by Buglewicz. They will also probably go up against a laundry list of Iowa's top choirs. While it may take them a few years to reach the level of some of the state’s very top groups, Kennedy seems to be headed in the right direction. No matter where they may go in 2025, Cedar Rapids Kennedy is bound to bring “Happiness” to audiences in Iowa and throughout the Midwest.
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