Even when Neil Simon is not at his best, he writes better comedy than most playwrights, and a splendid cast delivers the laughs with delightfully on-the-mark timing. The result is a broad and very funny production by the New Jewish Theatre of his "Laughter on the 23rd Floor," a softly focused remembrance of his youthful days as a writer with Sid Caesar's "Your Show of Shows." It opened last night at the group's new space in the Jewish Community Center and will run through June 20, with Edward Coffield's intelligent direction bringing out the maximum laughter.
Simon still was in his 20s when he was hired by Caesar, joining a writing group that included Woody Allen (Gary Wayne Barker), Larry Gelbart (Jordan Reinwald), Mel Tolkin (Bob Harvey), Lucille Kallen and Selma Diamond (combined into a single character, played by Kirsten Wylder), Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks (the same, played by Bobby Miller) and Michael Stewart (B. Weller). Christian Vieira is the young, inexperienced Simon, who also sets the scenes and provides a little background; Alexandra Woodruff is the naive secretary, Helen.
And then, badda boom badda bing, there's Alan Knoll as Caesar, way over the top in a role written for the hyperactive Nathan Lane. Knoll is as effective as Lane was when I saw the play during its nine-month run on Broadway 16 years ago. Knoll rants and raves, cowers behind his desk, pleads and harangues, goes all out physically and verbally. It's a powerful performance, with misplaced words and malapropisms adding flavor like salt on a steak. He thinks, at one moment, that the writers should quit their jobs and, in effect, go on strike, adding, "If someone doesn't want to quit, well, he can walk out the door and leave right now."
Knoll is perfectly matched by Miller and Barker. Miller, going from one wild sport coat to another as the comedy progresses, has most of the best lines, the throwaway zingers that Brooks and Reiner took to the furthest of extremes. His face has become hilariously pliable through the years I've watched him, and Miller is masterful in his timing, hitting his lines to perfection, a skill I learned about one night in post-performance conversation with Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy. Barker, seen mostly in more serious roles, swings happily into comedy and just nails the egotistic, hypochondriacal Allen in perfect style.
Wylder takes on the role of the woman who wants equality–she does not want to be known as a "woman writer," but "just as a writer"–and she excels as a participant who checks her gender at the door of the writers' room and becomes just as profane as her colleagues. It's a fine performance.
Bob Harvey adds an accent to his profanity and spars nicely with Miller, and Reinwald, as the Gelbart character, offers a fine contrast, his vocal approach softer, but his verbal darts striking sharply. Viera is effective as the young Simon, approaching his colleagues as if he were walking through a mine field, and Weller provides another balancing point. Woodruff, as the put-upon secretary, did well with her attitude, and also in a discussion with Miller.
The new space at the Jewish Community Center had a couple of minor lighting glitches on opening night, but otherwise appeared to come through in fine style. It's far more comfortable, with better sight lines and acoustics than the former basement space, and appears to be a large improvement with more versatility in its seating arrangements. Scott C. Neale's scenic design worked nicely, with basic office furniture of the 1950s and room for the nine-person cast to move comfortably. The bagels were late to arrive, but the humor showed up right on schedule as the theater closed its 13th season on a high note.
"Laughter on the 23rd Floor," produced by the New Jewish Theater at the Jewish Community Center through June 20.
–Joe