“Laughter” Comes to Kelsey Theatre
Neil Simon Channels the Kings of Comedy in “Laughter on the 23rd Floor” Coming to Kelsey Theatre January 27, 2012
West Windsor, NJ (January 8, 2012) – Maurer Productions OnStage is bringing the classic Neil Simon comedy Laughter on the 23rd Floor to the stage. This hilarious salute to the comedy writers of television’s golden age will appear at Mercer County Community College’s Kelsey Theatre in West Windsor, NJ January 27, 2012. A public reception, with an opportunity to meet the cast and crew, will be held on opening night.
Produced by Maurer Productions OnStage (MPO), the company who brought Carol Burnett’s Hollywood Arms and Aaron Sorkin’s A Few Good Men to Kelsey Theatre, Laughter on the 23rd Floor follows the writing, fighting, and crazy antics which take place in the writers' room of a weekly variety show circa 1953. The show follows the antics of Max Prince, the star of "The Max Prince Show," and his ongoing battles with NBC executives who fear his humor is too sophisticated for Middle America. The characters in the play are based on Neil Simon's real-life co-workers when he was a comedy writer on Sid Caesar's television program "Your Show of Shows." Each of the characters in the play is based on one of the real-life kings of comedy who worked beside Simon in the 50s.
MPO’s Artistic director, John Maurer, is helming this production. A versatile theatre producer and director whose credits include large scale musicals like Singin’ in the Rain and Man of La Mancha, Maurer is most a home with small comedies.
“I love to make people laugh and I love a good comedy,” Maurer said. “Producing or directing large scale musicals – often doing both at the same time – is a lot of fun, but doing a small intimate comedy to me is like coming home.”
After founding Maurer Productions OnStage with his wife, Diana, in 2004, one of the first major productions Maurer directed for the fledgling company was a small comedy call The Foreigner. Neil Simon’s Laughter on the 23rd Floor follows in the footsteps of that wacky comedy and the other plays that Maurer Productions has done since, including Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs, and the award-winning Driving Miss Daisy.
The show’s cast features Mark Swift of Hamilton, NJ as Lucas (modeled after Neil Simon himself), Michael Gonzalez of Columbus, NJ as Milt Fields (inspired by Carl Reiner), Joe Zedeny of East Windsor, NJ as Val Slotsky (inspired by Mel Tokin), Brett Molostky of Camden, NJ as Brian Doyle (inspired by Michael Stewart), Casey Woods of Sayerville as Kenny Franks (inspired by Larry Gelbart), Alana Caraccio as Carol Wyman of Doylestown, PA (inspired by Selma Diamond), Joseph Perignat of Furlong, PA as Max Prince (inspired by Sid Caesar and Jackie Gleason), Nicole Spadafino of Bethlehem, PA as Helen, and John Pinto of Yardley, PA as Ira (inspired by Mel Brooks).
Maurer Productions OnStage will present Laughter on the 23rd Floor Fridays, January 27th and February 3 at 8pm, Saturdays, January 28th and February 4th at 8pm, Sundays, January 29th and February 5th, at 2pm in the Kelsey Theatre on the West Windsor Campus of Mercer County Community College. The theatre is located on the college's West Windsor Campus at 1200 Old Trenton Road. Free parking is available next to the theatre. To order tickets, go online at www.kelseyatmccc.org, call 609-570-3333, or stop by the Kelsey Theatre Box Office. Tickets are $16 for adults, $14 for seniors and $12 for students and children. The Kelsey Theatre is wheelchair accessible. More information about this production of Laughter on the 23rd Floor can be found online at www.mponstage.com.
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