Leo9 Productions presents
LAUGHTER ON THE 23RD FLOOR
by Neil Simon
About the play…
Leo9 Productions is thrilled to be presenting the Neil Simon classic ‘Laughter on the 23rd Floor’ for its mid-year production.
Laughter is set in the writer’s room of “The Max Prince Show” – the most successful weekly variety show of the time. In addition to the daily battles between members of the writing team, Max Prince is battling the television executives, who are pressuring him to change the show to keep the advertisers happy.
Among his crew of ‘misfits’ are Milt, the insult artist; Ira, the hypochondriac whose dream is to have a virus named after him; and Val, a Russian émigré‚ who takes a Berlitz course so he can curse without an accent. They are devoted to their boss, Max, a comic genius, a tyrant, and a paranoiac with a heart of gold. But his penchant for tippling and popping too many pills is growing under the pressures of a rising McCarthyism, network executives, and sponsors who want him to cut back his "too-smart" show and staff so that they can chase after the Leave It to Beaver and Father Knows Best audiences.
Laughter is inspired by Simon’s early career as a writer for Your Show of Shows – a highly successful variety show in the 1950’s. Simon spent a lot of time crammed in a writer’s room with the likes of his brother Danny, Larry Gelbart, Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner, and he used the experience to shape this play.
Cast (in order of appearance)
| Lucas: | Raph Krell |
| Milt: | Andrew Pennycuik |
| Val: | Tony Costa |
| Brian: | Adrian Chapman |
| Kenny: | Tim Barsby |
| Carol: | Mikhaela Musat |
| Max: | Ed Kennett |
| Helen: | Sarah Berryman |
| Ira: | Chris Taylor |
| Director: | Catherine Brain |