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Stars explained: * A production of no real merit
with failings in all areas. ** A production showing evidence of not
enough time or effort, or even talent, and which never breathes any real
life into the piece – or a show lumbered with a terrible script. *** A
good enjoyable show which might have some small flaws but has largely
achieved what it set out to do.**** An excellent show which shows a
great deal of work and stage craft with no noticeable or major
flaws.***** A four star show which has found that extra bit of magic
which lifts theatre to another plane. |
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A writing a comedy comedy Laughter on the 23rd Floor Sutton Arts Theatre Sutton Coldfield Laughter
on the 23rd Floor
is a Neil Simon comedy which opened on Broadway in 1993. According to
Simon, Sid Caesar's writers on the original
Your Show of Shows
,including himself and his older brother Danny Simon, held their script
sessions at various times on the eleventh and the twelfth floors of an
NBC-TV office building the amalgamation of which created the 23rd
floor. Reputedly the sources for the cast's
characters include-- Mel Tolkin for the Russian émigré Val, Mel Brooks
for Ira, Larry Gelbart and Carl Reiner for Kenny. “Laughter” is set in
the writers' room of the fictional “Max Prince Show,” based on the
Caesar series. Simon's alter ego, Lucas, is the new writer, the
youngster hoping to become a permanent part of the team, who
also narrates proceedings. Funny, fast paced, and witty, it also
has Simon's trademark undercurrent of nostalgia,
and youthful-paradise lost, interlaced with true and apocryphal stories
from the Writing Room. Director Joanne Elllis has assembled a fine cast
for this run, all up to the task of fleshing out some instantly
recognisable archetypes who perform eschewing obvious stereotypical
characterisation. The costume choice is authentic and inspired, the
American accents consistent. Dexter Whitehead plays new boy Lucas Brickman
well, combining self-effacing tentativeness as a novice team member with
reflective authority in his role as narrator. Alan Lane revels in the
role of Brian, the grumpy old git, invariably on the cusp of his big
breakthrough; Gary Pritchard makes the most of a flamboyant wardrobe and
the best lines of the evening. Vainglorious Max Prince is a gem of a
part and Andrew Tomlinson becomes Max, paranoid, deluded larger than
life and with no need for trousers while writing. Ian Cornock as Kenny
is suitably suave and debonair, Tim Hughes as Ira offers more than a
touch of Woody Allen in his interpretation of the part which offers the
benefit of physical as well as verbal comedy which he exploits well. There are only two minor roles for women in the
production. Aimee Hall takes on emerging feminism in her demand to be
accepted as a writer, and not a token female, doing very well with an
underwritten part. Aimee Homer makes the most of her cameo appearances as
office secretary looking stunning in her party dress at the end of the
show. For me the most satisfying performance came from
Dan Payne as Russian émigré Val. His physical appearance resembles that
of comedian Omid Djalili. He dominated the verbal sparring combining
pathos with profanity in equally amusing measure. The cast of nine is
introduced to the stage in dribs and drabs meaning that it takes about
fifteen minutes for the whole cast to assemble, and it is only then that
the script starts to fire on all cylinders. Set in New York City in the 1950s, over sixty
years ago, the McCarthyite Communist witch hunts provide a context for
the story but the main narrative is of a writer having fun with a comedy
about writers. With a lesser talent the results could have been
narcissistic and self-indulgent, but Simon's writing and Ellis's
production avoid the obvious bear-traps. Laughter on the 23rd Floor
serves as an exhibit in the metaphorical museum of television, a relic
of a form of entertainment long gone, although the themes of budget
cuts, advertiser led material, and creative compromise are as relevant
now as they were then. This fine revival of one of Simon's lesser known,
but funniest, comedies runs to 29-06-13. Gary Longden |
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