Laughter on the 23rd Floor at the Village Playbox
by Stephen T. Kreal
On Friday evening, November 10th, I went to see Neil Simon’s “Laughter on the 23rd Floor” at Village Playbox in Haddon Heights, NJ. The play was directed by Steve Allen.
“Laughter on the 23rd Floor” opened on Broadway (Richard Rogers Theater) on November 22nd, 1993 and ran for 320 performances. It was adapted as a made-for-TV movie in 2001. Based on real events from the life of playwright Neil Simon, with characters inspired by real-life people that Simon worked with as a young writer on Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of Shows”, in the early 1950’s. The real life parallels are readily available on the internet. The action of the play takes place in the writers’ room at NBC Studios in New York City.
The set was period-appropriate, with photographs of celebrities from that time period. There were no major anachronisms on the set, suggesting that care and precision went into the set design. The walls were painted in a soft turquoise. There were two doors for entrances and exits.
The costuming was solid. As with the set, the costumes had a vintage feel, especially the costumes of the ladies. They both wore colorful, knee-length dresses. The men were all dressed as one would be in 1953. I particularly noticed the attention paid to the neckties and shoes. I also noticed a good color balance between all of the costumes. Which is of particular importance in one scene.
The play opens with a monologue to the audience from the character of Lucas Brinkman (played by Mac Vesak-Kennedy), who has been temporarily hired as a junior writer on the show on a three-month contract. Both the character and the actor project a warm, congenial manner as he occasionally breaks the fourth wall to provide background and context to keep the narrative moving along.
We are introduced to the characters one-by-one, as they show up to work to create the script for the “The Max Prince Show”. First we meet Milt Fields, played by Ethan Rundell. Milt is a wise-cracking, sarcastic personality with rapid-fire comedic timing. It is difficult at first for Lucas (and the audience) to tell if Milt is serious or kidding.
Next, we meet Russian immigrant/head writer Val Skolsky, played by Matt Griffin. Griffin appeared recently at Village Playbox in “You Can’t Take It With You”. Griffin’s wonderful, robust Russian accent, coupled with his witty lines, were flawlessly delivered, and thoroughly entertaining. Next, we meet Brian Doyle, played by Jay Fink. He is the senior, jaded, chain-smoking “village elder”, who is always on the brink of major stardom.
After that, we are introduced to Kenny Franks, played by Frank Zearns (who I have had the pleasure of seeing perform before). Zearns gave a solid performance, delivering his hysterical lines with poise and confidence. His character was inspired by real-life playwright/producer Larry Gelbart (of MASH fame). As a counterbalance to the predominantly male cast, there are two ladies in the cast. Amber Kushing plays Carol Wyman, the only woman writer on the staff. Her character is inspired by both Selma Diamond (of Night Court Fame) and Lucille Kallen. Kushing is a highly experienced actress and playwright, and that experience is evident in her confidant performance. Wyman is more mature than any of the men. The character has a sharp wit and expertly holds her own in a male-dominated workplace.
The last writer we meet is the hypochondriac Ira Stone, played by the rock-solid actor Doug Cohen (a veteran of the local community theater scene). Mr. Cohen always projects a warmth and authentic charm. I noticed the same nuance several years ago, when he was in “Lost in Yonkers” (also at Village Playbox). The cast is rounded off by Max’s secretary Helen, played by Rebecca Friedman. In Act 2, Friedman was able to showcase her talent during the Holiday party scene.
The individual characters are all delightfully quirky and unique. This is the brilliance of Neil Simon. The characters are all talking and waiting for Max Prince to arrive for a writing session, the star of the show and center-of-gravity for the group. Max Prince is played by Ed Silberman, on stage for the first time in years. The action really picks up when we meet Prince. Playing a quirky character is a difficult balancing act. An actor has to project the quirkiness, yet remain relatable to the audience. Here, we see not only the excellence of Neil Simon’s writing, but Mr. Silberman’s acting. I have no doubt that Steve Allen’s directing was also a contributing factor to how well this aspect of the play was done. Mr. Silberman crafted a PERFECT balance of the two elements. He was very funny, with impeccable timing, and retained the “likeability” factor. I hope to see him in future productions.
The narrative of the play deals with budgetary cuts; and NBC shortening the length of the show. Max Prince tries to think of ideas to avoid having to lay off one of the writers. The funniest scene features the entire writing cast doing a read-through of a skit idea. The dialogue is fast, witty and very well-written, and this scene is particularly fun to watch. It is here the cast really shines.
The production was smooth, with timely sound and lighting cues (most notably: a spotlight only on Lucas to emphasize that this is an aside for the audience and not part of the dialogue. One aspect that was a bit distracting at times: there were several points in the performance where individual actors were not visible to the audience. It did not take away from the overall quality, however, it was noticeable.
The script is Neil Simon at his finest. The pacing was excellent, and there was good chemistry between the cast members. The production was quite good, and very entertaining. “Laughter on the 23rd Floor” runs through Saturday, November 18th. Tickets can be purchased here:
