Welcome to Neil Simon : the jester of problematic relationships.
Neil Simon's career is filled with so many plays, films, awards etc . Now 81, he was most active in the 1960s and 1970s when he had, at one time, four hit plays running simultaneously on Broadway. In spite of the theatre and financial success he was rather upset that the drama critics did not regard him seriously but only as a comic writer without gravitas. His wife, Joan, died in 1973 after twenty years of marriage. Simon had always used the happenings of his life in his dramatic material, finding the humour in painful domestic situations. After Joan's death his work took a darker tone and he produced a trilogy, one of which (Brighton Beach Memoirs) has been presented at the GWT.
The Sunshine Boys has the sensitive subject of the reunion after a number of years of a once very successful two-man comedy team. The twist is that off-stage they can't stand each other and now, in old age, with a come-back, success is far from assured.
Simon said of the play : " This was some of the best work I have done. I spent my life growing up with these men. If they spoke in one-liners and punch lines instead of conversation, it's because it was the only language they knew. Spend a few after noons around the Friars Club, a hangout for aging comedians and a pencil, a pad, and a discriminating ear will record for you some of the funniest and saddest dialogue you ever heard. A good play, The Sunshine Boys."
Neil Simon began writing as a teenager with his elder brother, Danny, when they both wrote gags for tv shows with Neil out-stripping his brother and reaching the peaks with the US classic 'Your Show of Shows' writing for Jerry Lewis, Sid Caesar, Phil Silvers, Milton Berle and Jackie Gleason but the grind of churning out gags and one-liners began to pall and while Danny turned to directing for tv, Neil began to write for the stage and his first, Come Blow Your Horn was a hit.
His skill with the medium of comic plays was demonstrated with one of his biggest successes The Odd Couple. It was begun and jettisoned by Danny who used his own experience of sharing an apartment with a male friend following divorces. Danny couldn't make it work but Neil brought his comedy technique to it and it became a hit play and film. In 1991 Neil was given a Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Lost in Yonkers and he has a Broadway theatre named after him.
Bill Bray
Lewis and Clark - two names that defined comedy. That is until Al Lewis decided to retire after their appearance on the Ed Sullivan show. Unfortunately that meant that Willie Clark also had to retire, and he wasn't ready. Eleven years later, and Willie's nephew and agent tries to get them back together for a television event on the history of comedy. But eleven years without speaking has allowed the niggles of the 43 years they worked together to grow to massive proportions, and the plan is doomed to disaster from the off.
Neil Simon gives us a classic play which fires the one-liners at a rapid pace, and we have assembled a classic cast to match.
Colin Hill is Willie Clark, the cantankerous, bitter old-stager who still longs for the fame he once enjoyed but can't accept that he is probably just too old. Alan Goodwin plays his frail, dithering and hugely frustrating ex-partner, Al Lewis, who's innocent habits so annoyed Willie that he refused to speak to him for over a year before the split. David Webster is Ben Silverman, Willie's harassed Nephew-cum-Agent, who's attempts to get the pair back together for a one-off CBS special causes all the trouble. Lola Lee-Walsh is the Registered Nurse who has to endure Willie's wisecracking, but only because she gets paid.
Completing the cast for the CSB special we have Michael Martin, Glen Chute, Claire Lewis-McLean and newcomer Tony Gurney.
This promises to be a completely satisfying evening, which will leave you laughing for days. We still haven't managed to get through a rehearsal without laughing yet, and we've heard all the jokes already! And with this cast, you surely can't afford to miss this one. Book now - the seats are already going fast.
Ross Holland, Director |