Broadway Blog - (Re)Enter Laughing

When the York Theatre first presented its mainstage mounting of Enter Laughing back in September I wrote that, while far too early to tell, it might well wind up being the funniest, most entertaining production of a musical we'll see this season.  Four months later, I must admit that it has indeed been topped... by itself.  After taking a hiatus while the space was committed for another show, director Stuart Ross' slam-bang mounting returns to the York a little funnier, a little snazzier and featuring the best male leading performance in a musical the season has seen thus far.

A brief history for the uninitiated:  Enter Laughing began as a semi-autobiographical comic novel by Carl Reiner about David Kolowitz, a 17-year-old Jewish Bronx boy growing up in the 1930s who obsesses over girls and has dreams of becoming a famous actor, despite parental insistence that he goes to pharmacy school, marry a nice girl and has a safe, normal life as a druggist.  Joseph Stein adapted the book into one of the hit Broadway plays of 1963 and then teamed up with composer/lyricist Stan Daniels to convert the piece into the 1976 musical, So Long, 174^th Street.  (This was back in the day when they actually thought up new names for musicals.)  Popular wisdom says that So Long, 174^th Street's mere two week run was mostly caused by the decision to go for a big star and cast significantly older than 17-year-old Robert Morse as David, playing the show as a flashback.  (I suppose a lyric like "I keep undressing girls with my eyes" loses some of its innocent charm once the actor singing it hits 40.)  But the eventually recorded (mostly) original Broadway cast album, featuring Morse, George S. Irving, Loni Ackerman and Kaye Ballard (added for the recording) helped the very funny score achieve cult status among collectors.  Concert productions by both Musicals Tonight! and the York proved the show to be a crowd pleaser, especially when Stein revised his book to turn David back into a teenager for the whole evening and the enterprise was rechristened with the less catchy but commercially stronger title, Enter Laughing, the Musical.

While I didn't see the original production, the cast album and the Broadway reviews suggest it was a show with big, broad comic performances.  For the intimate York Theatre, Ross has his cast playing on a more sincere level, creating a sweet empathy for the characters without losing any laughs.  This is particularly true for Josh Grisetti, whose starry-eyed awkwardness as David is warm and sympathetic throughout his misadventures both onstage and with girls.  Since his last stint in the role Grisetti's comic chops have fully worked their way into his performance without losing any honesty.  Whether he's trying to act suave in front of attractive women, doing bad imitations of Ronald Coleman or completely freezing with stage fright in a disastrous (and hilarious) stage debut, Grisetti proves himself a top-flight musical comedy clown.  His singing ain't bad, either.

As David's supportive (to a point) girlfriend, Wanda, Emily Shoolin's performance, while perfectly fine the first time I attended, has gained an adorable dose of comic dorkiness.  Her bluesy belting of one of the score's funniest numbers, a torch song where she sings of the grade school boys who wronged her in her pre-teen years is one of the evening's many high points.

Also returning are real life married couple Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker, playing David's manipulative mom and mensch of a pop, with Eikenberry beautifully underplaying her two guilt-laden songs, "My Son, The Druggist" and "If You Want To Break Your Mother's Heart."  (And it takes talent to underplay a scene where you're handing your son a knife and encouraging him to stab you in the back.)  When Tucker teams up with Ray DeMattis (playing David's crusty employer) for a song and dance about the irresponsibility of 1930s youth, their "Hot Cha Cha" performance brings down the house.

Two new additions have joined the cast since the first run of this production.  Known more for playing serious musical roles, Marla Schaffel displays some terrific zaniness as the sex-starved actress playing David's romantic interest.  Her performance of a song added since the Broadway run, a sit-on-the-piano cabaret turn where she describes the low standards she sets for finding her dream man ("He must have skin," is one of her requirements.) is just hilarious.

Stepping in for the great George S. Irving, who originated the role of David's erudite, hard-drinking, washed-up acting teacher when So Long, 174^th Street premiered and who recreated the performance when this mounting first opened, is not an enviable task.  Fortunately, another of Broadway's great character men, Bob Dishy, lends his own veteran panache to the role.  At 74 years of age his singing voice may not have its previous strength, but his faux-cultured manner and grim, deadpan reactions to his star pupil's ineptitude is just right.

James Morgan's simple settings and David Toser's period costumes have been snazzed up a bit since last time and, along with Chris Robinson's lighting (which provides occasional laughs itself) and Matt Castle's music arrangements for a 3-piece combo, they serve Ross' playful mounting very well.

I seriously doubt very many regional and amateur theatre companies ever considered So Long, 174^th Street after its brief Broadway run but I wouldn't be surprised if productions of Enter Laughing started popping up all over the country when the York is done with it.  This is smart, loveable musical comedy packed with very funny songs and performed by an exceptional cast.  Go and laugh yourself silly.

Photos by Carol Rosegg:  Top: Josh Grisetti and Company; Bottom:  Jill Eikenberry