Carole Ita White News

Actors Annie Korzen, Ron Orbach, DeeDee Rescher, and Carol Ita White join stars Jason Alexander and Gina Hecht in the special three-week engagement of the comedy The Prisoner of Second Avenue by Neil Simon. Directed by Glenn Casale, the production close May 15, 2011 at El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood.

On the heels of his 1970 hit film The Out of Towners Neil Simon crafted The Prisoner of Second Avenue in 1971, which had a more than a healthy run on Broadway and filmed in 1975 with Jack Lemmon and Anne Bancroft. Towners has always been my favorite as it depicts how bright and enthusiastic small town people visit and view the living conditions of New York City as less than desirable. Anything that can go wrong does and the pair cannot wait to make a fast exit. In Avenue, it's a perspective from within as New York apartment dwellers Mel (Jason Alexander) and Edna (Gina Hecht) Edison must cope with high rent, noisy neighbors, unemployment, robbery, garbage strikes, the exorbitant cost of living and trying to keep one's sanity in the process. In this new production at the El Portal, Glenn Casale's fantastic pacing as director and a superb ensemble make The Prisoner of Second Avenue more topical than ever.

The Prisoner of Second Avenue revolves around the escalating problems of a middle-aged couple living on Second Avenue on the Upper East Side of New York City. Mel Edison (portrayed by Alexander), has just lost his job after many years and now has to cope with being unemployed at middle age. The action occurs during an intense summer heat wave and a prolonged garbage strike, which just exacerbates Edison's plight to no end as he and his wife Edna (Hecht) deal with noisy neighbors, loud sounds emanating from Manhattan streets, and even a robbery of their apartment in broad daylight.

Actors Annie Korzen, Ron Orbach, DeeDee Rescher, and Carol Ita White will join stars Jason Alexander and Gina Hecht in the special three-week engagement of the comedy The Prisoner of Second Avenue by Neil Simon, it was announced today by producers Tom Brocato, Butterfield Road Productions in association with Charles A. Eisler, Producers Network.