By Staff Writer Dave Domezik
PELHAMThe return of one of South City Theatre’s most memorable plays will mark the end of the spring season. Under Clay Boyce’s direction, Neil Simon’s Laughter on the 23rd Floor, a fast-paced comedy based on the playwright’s actual experiences in a television writers’ room in the 1950s, debuted on Friday, June 13 and runs through Saturday, June 21.
For the theater, which last presented the show 15 years ago when it was housed in the Alabaster warehouse, the production is a full circle moment.
According to Donna Williamson, the artistic director of South City Theatre, “we like to perform a show that we’ve done in the past.” That title continued coming up for consideration when we chose our 2024–25 season.
Laughter on the 23rd Floor, written in 1993, provides an intimate look into the heyday of television. The play depicts the chaos, friendship, and creative energy of a busy writers’ room and is loosely based on Simon’s experience writing for Your Show of Shows with comedic greats like Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner.
First and foremost, it’s a salute to the heyday of television, according to director Clay Boyce, Williamson said. It is regarded as one of Neil Simon’s most intimate pieces and offers an inside look into programs such as The Carol Burnett Show and Sid Caesar’s Show of Shows. Above all, the play illustrates how friendships at work can somewhat ease our workload.
The play’s themes are still very relevant even though it was set in the 1950s.
“Laughter is fundamentally a celebration of people,” Boyce stated. There are still those of us who work too hard and give our jobs our all. In fields where men predominate, some women are still figuring things out. Above all, we continue to form friendships. Despite our disagreements and affection for one another, they remain our friends. And I’m hoping that everyone who watches this show will recognize some aspect of themselves in these historical figures.
Boyce thinks the play’s comedy and humanity are what make it ageless.
He said, “It’s okay to laugh at this madness we call work and life,” as this play serves as a mirror to life.
Although Simon’s trademark wit is evident in the presentation, the theater also pays attention to the play’s sophisticated vocabulary.
Williamson stated that there is a lot of mature language in this piece. We have made note of that in a number of locations, such as the playbill, newsletter, social media, our ticketing portal, and the taped curtain address. We hope that all of these warnings are enough for our audience, even though we don’t typically do shows with this much strong language.
South City Theatre feels the production embodies its objective of providing high-caliber, provocative theater to the local stage, despite its more edgy tone.
Williamson stated, “We are providing audiences with a look into the past and hope they leave this show feeling entertained and having laughed for two hours.”
Go to Southcitytheatre.com to buy tickets or for additional information.
