Laughter on the 23rd Floor

Critiqued by Holly Bartges

Gigantic egos lock horns while throwing one-line zingers forcefully with deliberation. Sold-out houses graced the West Colfax E-Vent Center for Spotlight Theatre’s opening weekend of Neil Simon’s Laughter On The 23rd Floor.

Jesse Pearlman in Spotlight Theatre’s Laughter on the 23rd Floor.

He’s the new kid on the block. Of course, he’s nervous. Addressing the audience as he often does throughout the show, he provides behind the scenes clues for his fellow players. He’s funny. He’d better be funny. He’s starting a job with some of the funniest hard hitting comedic writers in television for the Max Prince 90-minute weekly variety show. Christian Mast cloaks himself wondrously in Lucas Brickman’s countenanced demeanor warming up to the audience. Not unexpectantly, the audience quickly warms up to him. Putting a weekly show together, keeping the ratings high, takes a great deal of nervousness, a dash of neurosis, a pinch of paranoia, charging egos, and a tub of blood sweat and tears.

Laughter On The 23rd Floor unveils the outrageous idiosyncrasies in the only way Simon knows how, with crisp one-liners soaked in hilarity.

Simon should know, Lucas just happens to be his alter ego, remembering the early days of Sid Caesar’s The Show of Shows. Along with Simon, the team comprised of Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Larry Gelbart, Carl Reiner, and Simon’s brother Dan.

Laughter takes place between March and December 1953. Toppled with notorious one-liners, humungous egos, slapstick, serious decisions, and induced rage, the writers are “Hell-Bent” to create the perfect show. The madcap comedy stands straight and tall as one of Simon’s funniest.

Director Pat Payne surrounded himself with a strong cast needed to pull off this fast moving hilarious Simon play. Timing is essential for laughter to sing through zingers. The chemistry between the actors feeds into the chemistry exhibited for the ego-busting paranoid neurotic, funny people who care first about themselves and their jobs, but also care deeply about each other, even though they may have an unusual way of showing it.

When push comes to shove, it matters little who the characters are supposed to represent. Yes, Laughter gives us a sharp hilarious insight behind the scenes of the top comedy show of the 1950’s. Considering the pressure suit they lived in, it raises several questions about comedy and maybe it isn’t as funny as it appears to be. The background provides insight into 1953. The characters aren’t portraits of these beloved comedians although history pokes its nose into Simon’s writing along with poetic license.

What matters most is how the actors bring to life Simon’s characters. Spotlight’s production, produced by The “E” Project, grabs them by the ears, molds them into believable human beings, and solidifies the parts into a whole. That’s a major accomplishment for any theatre.

As the head writer, Luke Terry took Val’s role late in the production but snapped quickly up to the comedy bar. As a Russian, Terry slipped out of the heavy accent frequently on Opening Night, while maintaining the character and the one-line zingers. Val definitely has his hands full keeping the writers corralled and focused. Terry masterfully allowed Val that nerve-wracking responsibility.

Not all is fun and games. Max, played wondrously by Jesse Pearlman, finds himself in an ongoing fight with the network over cutting his hour and a half show down to an hour. This burns Max’s ego to a crisp. At the same time Senator Joseph McCarthy has begun his rampage against the Cold War and Communism. Max fumes over the havoc McCarthy creates with the Entertainment Industry and calling a National Hero, General George C. Marshall a “Red”.

Max comes to the writer’s den every morning to find out where the writers are, and where they’re headed. Obsessed and controlled by booze and pills, he has a terrible time remembering Lucas’s name. Skittish over the McCarthy era, rightfully so, the network creeps into a safe hole of soft-soaped “pabulumed” shows represented by Father Knows Best. It also wants to attract a younger audience, and begins to wonder if the sketch shows appeal. Pearlman flows easily from pressured humor on Max’s staff, to rages ignited by the network and McCarthy. Punching holes in the wall and breaking chairs became his trademark. This isn’t the time to hang your head and feel sorry for what you did. Oh, no this is the time to flaunt it. Max requests the secretary, Helen, deliciously played by Catherine Smith, to order gold frames from Tiffany’s to honor his handiwork.

Even when the show is cut to an hour, expenses need to be tightened, and it looks like one of the writers has to be cut. Max comes up with a reliable scheme to cut one paycheck keeping the writers in tact.

The one gentile in the group, Brian Doyle announces every Friday it’s his last day. He’s going to Hollywood. Well, no, he doesn’t have a contract. Actually, no one has read his script yet. That doesn’t matter. The fact someone verbalized interest over the phone is enough for him. Andy Anderson plays Brian smooth, cool, and confident, even making the heavy coughing sound real.

Bob Leggett’s take on Milt Fields decked out in a red beret, red tie, and red suspenders displays assured arrogance with Lucas when he announces, “I’m unique”.

Patrick Collins takes Kenny Franks for a fun-filled ride. It is noted with pride Kenny was a boy genius who wrote for Jack Benny when he was only 14 years old.

The lone woman writer, Carol, comes together with determined assistance from Haley Johnson. Carol wants to be known “as a good writer, not a woman writer”, which becomes slightly difficult when she’s pregnant. Johnson gives Carol the sharp edge and language needed for a woman in the 50’s to survive a man’s ego centered world, laced with a film of femininity. At one point, Ira tells her to sit down, “You look like the entrance to the White House.”

Oh, yes, there’s Ira Stone patterned after a combination of Woody Alley and Mel Blanc. A hypochondriac, Ira stumbles into the office late every day convinced he’s dying of some horrible disease. Who else to play Ira but the one and only Bernie Cardell, who has an incredible knack for huge comedic portraits as well as subtle humorous eyebrow flicks. Cardell controls every muscle in his body endowed with a comedic syndrome that understands magical timing. Even though he takes center stage, the other egos residing on stage demand their rightful chorographical funny moments and get them. The chemistry hovering around this cast lunges the actors to full speed ahead.

Helen finally admits amongst all the chaos she wants to be a comedy writer more than anything. Of course, they are going to give her a crack. Smith is wonderful with Helen especially when she tries on a Chinese Jewish joke for size and discovers it doesn’t fit. Smith stands out with Helen not quite bringing it all together in one of the most captivating scenes in the play. For a woman to even think about cracking the hard-hitting arrogant world of comedy in the 1950’s deserves applause in its own right. Johnson directs that applause to Helen.

Stacy Nelms designed the set to represent a large office with desks spread out for the writers to share with a large conference table where they can crack their jokes together. Pictures of past shows and celebrities line the walls giving the characters plenty of room for their acting out antics. They need it for Max’s fitful rages and Ira’s hysterical take on Julius Caesar,

With Payne’s direction and the expertise of the actors, Laughter on the 23rd Floor flows with giggles, and honest sidesplitting laughter. Not to be missed by any stretch of the imagination.

Laughter on the 23rd Floor
By Neil Simon; Directed by Pat Payne