Laughter on the 23rd Floor
Book By: Neil Simon
Directed by: Pat Kennedy
Assisted by: Kathie Weber
Produced by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.
Run of Show
“Laughter on the 23rd Floor” ran September 8 – 23, 2000, Thursday through Saturday at 8:00pm, Sunday at 2:00pm.
Synopsis
Set in 1953, Neil Simon’s “flat-out funniest play in years” (Dennis Cunningham, CBS- TV) re-creates the mayhem, neuroses, nonstop gags, and constant one-upmanship of a team of brilliantly funny social misfits as they write The Max Prince Show, a weekly variety program. Among the crew 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 audience.
“Uproarious! Neil Simon’s show of shows!” — Gene Shalit, Today, NBC-TV
The People …
Leading Roles
in order of appearance
| Lucas Brickman | Cory Trares |
| Milt Fields | Don Weber |
| Val Skolsky | Joel Ungerleider |
| Brian Doyle | Tom Kleinert |
| Kenny Franks | Rich Harrison |
| Carol Wyman | Sybil Small |
| Max Prince | Rob Gentry |
| Helen | Kate Argow |
| Ira Stone | Tom Hofbauer |
Production Staff
| Director | Pat Kennedy |
| Assistant Director | Kathie Weber |
| Producer | Don Weber & Kathie Weber |
| Set Design | Don Weber |
| Stage Manager | Debbie Marinik, Joanne Toth |
| Scenic Art | Dale Moore |
| NY Skyline Designed & Execute by | Willard Misfeldt |
| Lighting Design | Scott T. Gage |
| Lighting Crew | Will Chevalier, Angela Gage, Dan Marinik, Angela Metcalf |
| Costume Design | Kate Argow & Kathie Weber |
| Costume Crew | the cast! |
| Property Managers | Vickie Anderson |
| Property Crew | Ernie Brown, Jean Brown, Ashley Gage, John Henry, Nancy Janney, Lynn Lammers, Norb Mills, Ellison Weber |
| Set Construction | Rich Harrison, Rob Gentry, Scott Gage, Steve Mierzejewski, Jean Mills, Norb Mills, Dale Moore, Cory Trares, Don Weber |
| Set Dressing | Dale Moore, Don Weber |
| Sound Design | Scott T. Gage |
| Sound Crew | Marc Malley, Larry Janney |
| Saxophone Solo | Ellison Weber |
| Program | Don Weber |
| Program Art & Cover Design | Laura Fleck |
| House Manager | Ann Veasey |
| Box Office | Ann Veasey, Kimberly Bruggemann, Sue Holliger, Lisa Jackson, Joe & Carol Kwiatkowski, Judy Wiederhold, Roger Whitmore |
| Program Printing | Malhoit Printing |
| Theater Marquee Signs | Willard Misfeldt |
| Cast Photography | Bev Norman |
| Special Thanks | Marla Adams Barry Bagel Collingwood Water Funk, Luetke, Skunda, Inc. Hyman’s Red Barn Jackie Mierzejewski Once Upon a Mom Maternity, Perrysburg Pumpernickel’s Deli Toledo Repertoire Theatre |
The Show!
Place: An office on the 23rd floor of a building on 57th Street, New York City
Act I
March 1953
Act II
Scene 1: Seven months later
Scene 2: Christmas Eve