Sunday, Monday, happy days, Tuesday, Wednesday, happy days, Thursday, Friday, happy days.

This is such a cool full circle moment for Actress Linda Purl & Director Anson Williams because 52 years ago they met on the set of Happy Days & now they are reuniting in NYC for another run of Sharon Scott Williams's powerful play Crazy Mama: A True Story of Love and Madness, which had a very successful run in California in 2025.

I am thrilled Linda & Anson were able to take time out of their busy schedule to chat with me about this Happy Days Reunion & Crazy Mama.

In ths interview, Linda & Anson both answered my call to share:

• Anson Williams opens up about directing his wife Sharon Scott Williams’ powerful Off-Broadway play, Crazy Mama
• Linda Purl reveals what it takes to play 16 characters in one deeply personal story
• The interview explores love, family, mental health, and the healing power of theatre
• Linda and Anson reflect on their enduring Happy Days connection and creative reunion
• Anson looks back on directing iconic shows like Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place.
• Linda shares life beyond the stage, from music to Duffy’s Dough with Patrick Duffy.
• So much more

Connect with Linda: Website, Facebook, Instagram

Connect with Anson: Instagram

Connect with 59E59 Theaters: Website, Facebook, Instagram

Crazy Mama: A True Story of Love and Madness blends humor and heartbreak in a powerful story about family, mental illness, resilience, and hope.

After a frightening childhood moment changes everything, Sharon spends decades trying to understand, love, and save her mother from the devastating grip of mental illness.

Directed by Anson Williams & starring Actress Linda Purl, Crazy Mama: A True Story of Love and Madness plays a limited run at 59E59 Theaters in NYC through October 18, 2026. Click Here for tickets!

Linda Purl
Crazy Mama: A True Story of Love and Madness
59E59 Theaters, Photo Credit: Carol Rosegg

Linda Purl Crazy Mama Interview:

1. What made you want to star in Crazy Mama: A True Story of Love and Madness?  From the first read, everything about Sharon's script captivated me. I think any actor or actress would say they want to be involved with a piece that has depth, meaning and can in some way help illuminate fractions of the human condition. Sharon‘s play provides that opportunity to both performer and audience.

2. In this show, you play 16 different characters. What is the most challenging part about playing so many different characters? I’d be lying to say I wasn’t daunted by the thought of it at the top of rehearsals. Thankfully, however, because the play is so beautifully crafted, more than challenging, it is a delight to spend time with each of them.

3. How do you move from one character to the next in the mere seconds or minutes you have to make the transformation? I suppose it’s something we just do organically in life, in conversation, isn’t it?

I mean, if we’re telling a story, recounting a tale, you slip into the voice of the grocer, the dog walker... whoever appears in your story.

Also, Sharon‘s characters are colorful, memorable and fun to jump into so they are very inviting to inhabit.

Linda Purl
Crazy Mama: A True Story of Love and Madness
59E59 Theaters, Photo Credit: Carol Rosegg

4. One of the lead characters you play is Sharon. What do you relate to most about her? I love this question because I love Sharon. We are of similar vintage so there’s that. On a deeper level both our kinfolk hail from Virginia and so our connection, it seems to me, starts in the DNA.

5. Why do you feel this play needs to be told? We did the play in California about a year and a half ago and there was hardly a night after the show, when some one or more persons wouldn’t come back and share with me, a perfect stranger, some story of mental illness of their own.

These were tender, if brief conversations of personal heartache they had experienced through the rapids of mental illness in many different forms...that of a parent or child, spouse, close friend or even themselves.

The same has been true in our first couple of previews here in New York. All to say that the play, Sharon’s bravery in telling her story, demonstrably opens the door to conversation. That is a powerful starting point in any healing process.

For one thing it helps lift the scars of shame, establishes common ground, and the possibility of compassion and understanding. As an audience member I have countless times been educated, inspired, uplifted..the theatre has unique power to do so.

If I can say this without aggrandizing the profession, these opportunities of making human connection in the collective are more important now than ever.  It is why I, for one, go to the theatre as often as I can.

6. Press notes state that "Crazy Mama is a one-woman tour-de-force about a woman’s decades-long dream.." What is one decades long dream you still want to achieve? My son would be mortified to read this…but I can’t wait to be a Granny. I carry a dream and pray for better days for our country. I’m sure we each, in our own ways, do the same. These are difficult times.

7. What is something we didn't get to talk about in this interview that you'd like my audience to know about you? Thanks so much for asking. Tedd Firth, my utterly brilliant Music Director of many years now and I have a new album out called From the Heart. Very much fun to do and would love for anyone who might take an interest to check us out on any of the usual music platforms.

My partner, actor Patrick Duffy and I, started a sourdough bread company out of our garage six years ago now. The breads are made from a starter that Patrick’s Mom was gifted in Fairbanks, Alaska over 70 years ago.

Right from the start we agreed that all profits would go to fight food insecurity. (Think Newman’s Own wannabes. Stress on wannabes). A couple of years ago, Kroger took us on and so we’ve had the chance over the last 14 months of regional rollouts, to visit 18 states now. What a privilege.

At the start we had no idea of the profound crisis in food scarcity in the US. 1 in 5 adults, 1 in 6 children..and getting worse, not better. The whole adventure has been and continues to keep us on a big learning curve.

If any of your readers find themselves at a Kroger or Kroger affiliate store I hope they might pick up a loaf of Duffy’s Dough sourdough take and bake from the bakery section. It’s really yummy!

(L to R): Director Anson Williams, Actress Linda Purl
Playwright Sharon Scott Williams
Photo Credit - Chris Jensen

Anson Williams Crazy Mama Interview:

1. You are currently directing the Off-Broadway premiere of your wife's play (Sharon Scott Williams), Crazy Mama: A True Story of Love and Madness. What made you want to direct her play? I suggested to my wife that she should do an adaptation of her memoir as a one-woman show, so we started together from the beginning. I wanted to direct it because it's a story that will connect with millions of families on a deep emotional level.

In film and theatre, I look for stories that will affect people's lives in a positive way. Ron Howard and I did a film with Betty Davis that helped get Americans With Disabilities passed through Congress.

I directed another film years ago that doubled organ donor cards. That's the kind of projects that attracts my attention.

2. What is it like to work with your wife, Sharon in this manner? For example: Do you keep work separate from home life? Does it all blend together? It definitely blends together in a wonderful way. Throughout the day, we trade ideas on our different projects, whether one I'm directing or writing.

At the present time, we're collaborating on a musical we're very excited about. My screenplay, Mother of the Groom, is being packaged with CAA.

3. What has been the hardest scene to direct & why do you feel it was so difficult? The scene in Act II where the whole family rushes to the hospital. With so many distinct characters on stage at the same time, it becomes like a choreographed dance, which Linda executes perfectly.

Director Anson Williams & Playwright Sharon Scott Williams
Rome 2026
Photo Courtesy of Anson Williams's Social Media

4. What do you hope audiences come away with after seeing Crazy Mama: A True Story of Love and Madness? I'd like to see the walls come down, the stigma lifted, and conversations begin between those who are affected by the illness so they know they're not alone.

5. The show deals with the very sensitive subject of mental health. How do you feel your direction makes the topic easier for audiences to digest? It's a collaboration of writing, performance, and direction. My intention is to work with Sharon's script and Linda's amazing performance to make this family relatable and memorable. The musical interludes with The Bluesman, played by Will Huse, gives the audiences a moment to breathe and process what they've just seen.

Anson Williams & Grant Show 2026
Photo Courtesy of Anson Williams's Social Media

6. I can't do an interview with you without asking about directing Beverly Hills 90210 & Melrose Place, two of my all time favorite TV shows. Do you have any fun behind the scene stories you can share about working on these iconic shows? On 90210, we had a very famous cast, yet down-to-earth and really fun to create with.

On Melrose, we also had a terrific cast, especially Heather Locklear. She was beyond professional, kind, and talented. She was pregnant, up to nine months, and the challenge was to hire a double for long shots so when Heather came in, you couldn't see her tummy. It became a dance to hide her pregnancy.

7. What is something we didn't get to talk about in this interview that you'd like my audience to know about you? Well, I really don't like to talk about myself. I'm more interested in helping others reach their goals.

Growing up, it didn't seem like I had a chance in the world. But selfless, unsung heroes gave me the confidence to move forward, even when it seemed impossible. I enjoy paying that forward.

Anson Williams as Potsie on Happy Days
Photo Courtesy of Anson Williams's Social Media

Happy Days Reunion Interview:

Anson: Directing Crazy Mama: A True Story of Love and Madness has you reunited with your Happy Days co-star Linda Purl who played Gloria, Richie Cunningham’s girlfriend in Season 1 and then again during Season 10 when she played Ashley Pfister, Fonzie’s longtime girlfriend and fiancee. What was it like to be back together after all these years? Fantastic. It's wonderful working with Linda...there's nobody more talented and nobody with a bigger heart.

Linda: By starring in Crazy Mama: A True Story of Love and Madness you reunited with your Happy Days co-star Anson William who played Potsie on the classic hit show. What was it like to be back together after all these years? We all forged friendships those now, decades ago so we never really lost touch with each other. We became chosen family, and the weave of those relationships have continued all this while.

At the time we thought we were just lucky kids bouncing off to work. What we could not have known then is that we were also at the downbeat of friendships that would lead to these rich treasures all these years later. I know we all feel a profound and continuing debt of gratitude to Garry Marshall in life and in art for having brought us all together to begin with.

Linda Purl & Henry Winkler
Happy Days Promo
Photo Courtesy of Paramount/Everett Collection

Anson: In addition to directing, you are very well known for playing Potsie Weber on Happy Days. Looking back, what did you enjoy most about being on the show? The continued friendships that have endured for 52 years. We have an open text thread to help us keep in touch all the time.

Linda: What was your favorite scene or episode of Happy Days that you got to work with Anson on? Honestly, there are too many to list. That’s how much fun we had. Earth weights were left at the sound stage door.

An ancillary gift of Happy Days was that Garry insisted we all be on the softball team. Believe me I had no business being on any softball team. I was a distinct liability, but Garry insisted. Henry would be the first to say that he didn’t want to don those silly shorts and for all of his myriad gifts and talents, he would agree that softball was not necessarily one of them.

We got to tour Asia and Europe on USO tours and meeting our service people as we went, many of whom were about our age, was an inspiring experience. Anson went on to serve on the USO board for many years.

(L to R): Ron Howard & Anson Williams on Happy Days
Photo Courtesy of IMDB

Anson: What was your favorite scene or episode of Happy Days that you got to work with Linda on? Actually, the greatest times were on the road with the softball team. Especially in Japan, where Linda grew up. She took us to the places only locals knew about. It was a USO Tour, with the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force---and we won all the games!

Linda: On Happy Days, you played Gloria, Richie Cunningham’s girlfriend in Season 1 and then during Season 10 you played Ashley Pfister, Fonzie’s longtime girlfriend and fiancee. What were the differences between being on the show during Season 1 as compared to Season 10? Again, I have to thank Garry for his generosity in bringing me back as an entirely different character all those years later. In the interim, the show had risen to meteoric success and everybody had been through a great deal together. Marriages, babies born, illnesses…you know, the stuff of life. So it was like jumping into a very well seasoned stew. I was one lucky girl to be able to go back and be a part of that special unit again.

More Crazy Mama Interviews:

2026 (Read Here): Sharon Scott Williams - Crazy Mama: A True Story of Love and Madness - From Page to Stage

Linda Purl
Photo Courtesy of Anson Williams's Social Media

More on Linda Purl:

Broadway: Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Getting and Spending.

Off Broadway: Mr. Toole, The Baby Dance, Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

West End: The Year of Magical Thinking. Over 70 productions nationally, including 6 seasons Williamstown Theatre Festival.

UK tour: Catch Me If You Can.

Highlight: The Road to Mecca with Miss Julie Harris.

Series regular: Happy Days, Matlock, Homeland, The Office, over 45 Movies of the Week.

Founder/Artistic Director California International Theatre Festival 2008-2014.

Along with partner Patrick Duffy, co-founder Duffy’s Dough (all net proceeds to food scarcity).

Concert tours with Music Director Tedd Firth. Their new album: From My Heart.

Anson Williams
Photo Courtesy of Anson Williams's Social Media

More on Anson Williams:

Anson Williams is known for his iconic role of Potsie Weber on Happy Days, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination.

Over the past three decades, he has become an award-winning director, helming more than 300 hours of television, including Star Trek, Steven Spielberg’s SeaQuest, Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, Charmed, Lizzie McGuire, and The Secret Life of the American Teenager.

He also directed Christopher Walken in HBO’s All-American Murder and won the Humanitas Award for writing No Greater Gift .

Anson is honored to direct Sharon Scott Williams’ Crazy Mama: A True Story of Love and Madness.

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