Beloved playwright Neil Simon’s recollections of his early career provide fodder for snappy comedy in Avon Players’ Laughter on the 23rd Floor, running March 14-29. Max Prince (Ben Feliciano) is the star of a popular 1950s comedy-variety series that is a major hit on the East Coast, but network executives insist that it is too sophisticated for the Midwest and urge Prince to dumb down his act. Between the tensions of producing a weekly show and executive meddling, the star begins to unravel. His last line of defense is his writing staff, which includes newcomer Lucas Brickman (Brandon Niemi). This ensemble comedy features all the attendant comic drama as the harried writers frantically scramble to top each other with gags while competing for the attention of the star madman. Written by Neil Simon—and featuring his trademark rapid-fire wisecracks—Laughter on the 23rd Floor is based on Simon’s experiences writing for Sid Cesar’s Your Show of Shows.
Playwright Neil Simon wrote more than thirty plays and nearly as many screenplays. Over his long career he garnered many awards including Tony Awards for writing The Odd Couple and Biloxi Blues and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Lost in Yonkers. In addition to a third Tony honoring his body of work, he also received a Golden Globe, a New York Critics Circle Award, and a Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. In 1983, Simon was the first living playwright to have a Broadway theater named for him.
Laughter on the 23rd Floor offers an insider’s look at the processes and the personalities behind the creation of a comedy sketch show while also exploring political and social undercurrents of the era including McCarthyism, tensions among ethnicities, and the treatment of women. The character of Lucas acts as proxy for the playwright and, like the Simon stand-in character in other semi-autobiographic plays, addresses the audience directly. Many of the characters are inspired by real life writers and performers who Simon worked with early in his career. In addition to the character of Lucas serving as an author stand-in, the character of Max is based on Sid Cesar and the character of Ira is based on Mel Brooks (the creative mind behind Avon’s next offering, Young Frankenstein).
Director Marlaina Jurco has long been a fan of Simon’s relatable characters and slice-of-life storytelling style. She took a special interest in this particular play because it provides a snapshot of a particular time in entertainment history when so many generation-defining comic voices were being honed. Jurco believes that audience members will enjoy having a window into the close (if at times heated) relationships between the different creative temperaments: “The play shows the camaraderie, connection, and conflict that led to some of the enduring comedies we still laugh at today.” Despite being a period piece, she believes the humor remains timely. “The jokes and topics are as funny and poignant today as they were in the 90s when the play was written or the 50s when it is set,” Jurco said.
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