[a fool in paradise]

are they in hysterics?

noun
plural noun: hysterics
1.
informal
a wildly emotional and exaggerated reaction.
“the child has been seized with regular fits of hysterics at bedtime”
synonyms: hysteria, wildness, feverishness, irrationality, frenzy, loss of control, delirium, derangement, mania
“a fit of hysterics”
2.
a person suffering from hysteria.

best histrionics?

noun
plural noun: histrionics
1.
exaggerated dramatic behavior designed to attract attention.
“discussions around the issue have been based as much in histrionics as in history”
synonyms: dramatics, theatrics, tantrums; More
2.
archaic
an actor.

[familyop]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Hysteria \Hys*te"ri*a\, n. [NL.: cf. F. hyst['e]rie. See
     Hysteric.] (Med.)
     A nervous affection, occurring almost exclusively in women,
     in which the emotional and reflex excitability is
     exaggerated, and the will power correspondingly diminished,
     so that the patient loses control over the emotions, becomes
     the victim of imaginary sensations, and often falls into
     paroxism or fits.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: The chief symptoms are convulsive, tossing movements of
           the limbs and head, uncontrollable crying and laughing,
           and a choking sensation as if a ball were lodged in the
           throat. The affection presents the most varied
           symptoms, often simulating those of the gravest
           diseases, but generally curable by mental treatment
           alone. Hysteric