MARK AUERBACH
(Neil) Simon Says
Neil Simon is one of America’s funniest and most prolific playwrights. In his 50-plus years of making theatre and movie audiences laugh, he’s written over 30 plays and about as many screen plays, plus he’s received more Tony and Oscar nominations than any American writer to date. At one point in his early career, he had four Broadway hits running simultaneously on Broadway.
Two Simon classics visit area stages this summer. “Laughter on the 23rd Floor” opens Northampton’s New Century Theatre’s 2014 summer season (June 19-29). Sam Rush, the theatre’s artistic director, stages the comedy which is inspired by Simon’s own experience as a staff writer on the late Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of Shows”. Simon bases his characters after his fellow funny-men writers like Mel Brooks and Larry Gelbart, “Laughter on the 23rd Floor” had a successful Broadway run, starring Nathan Lane. New Century Theatre performs on the Smith College campus. For tickets: 413-585-3220 or www.newcenturytheatre.org.
Connecticut Repertory Theatre revives Simon’s very funny “The Sunshine Boys”, a comedy about an old vaudeville comedy duo, Lewis and Clark. (June 19-28). Over their 40-plus year career, Lewis and Clark grew to loathe each other, and they never spoke off-stage. Now, some well-meaning folk try to get them back together for a one night stand. Jerry Adler and Richard Kline (from TV’s “Three Company”) star as this now odd couple, portrayed by George Burns and Walter Matthau on the screen. The cast also includes Tina Fabrique and Steve Hayes. Connecticut Repertory Theatre artistic director Vincent J. Cardinal stages the comedy. For tickets: 860-486-2113 or www.crt.uconn.edu.
Of Note
The Feigenbaum Foundation, founded by Armand and the late Donald Feigenbaum, has pledged a ten-year endowment of up to $5 million to the Berkshire Theatre Group, which will create the Feigenbaum Center for the Performing Arts at The Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, and develop educational initiatives there.
Teaching Toward a Grammy. Two Western Massachusetts teachers, Sheila Heffernon and Ronald Smith, from Northfield Mount Hermon School, have been named Quarterfinalists in the 2015 Grammy Music Educators Awards. Semi-finalists will be announced in September. Last year, Lisa Bianconi of Kurn Hattin Homes in Westminster, VT was one of the ten finalists.
“A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder”, which moved triumphantly from Hartford Stage to Broadway, nabbed 7 Drama Desk Awards, including “Best Musical” and “Outstanding Direction of a Musical” for Hartford Stage Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak.
Keep in Mind…
***The Mystery of Irma Vep: A Penny Dreadful opens the Berkshire Theatre Group’s summer season on the Stockbridge campus (June 24-July 19). Charles Ludlam’s gothic farce satirizes several stage and screen genres from Victorian melodrama to the Hitchcock movie “Rebecca”. The fast paced show features two actors playing a host of male and female characters, and Ludlam starred in the play’s premiere. Aaron Mark directs the BTG production; Bill Bowers and Tony Award nominee Tom Hewitt (“The Rocky Horror Show”) co-star. For tickets: 413-997-4444 or www.berkshiretheatregroup.org.
***A Midsummer Night’s Dream. You can’t find a more seasonally-appropriate Shakespearean comedy like “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” or a better venue for Shakespeare than Shakespeare and Company in Lenox. Artistic director Tony Simotes sets the Bard’s tale of whimsy and fantasy with all that jazz on the bayous of Louisiana. Johnny Lee Davenport stars as Bottom. This is the 450th birthday of Shakespeare, and what better way to let the good times roll. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream plays in Lenox June 21-August 30. For tickets: 413-637-3353 or www.shakespeare.org
Mark G. Auerbach studied theatre at American University and the Yale School of Drama. He’s worked for arts organizations and reported on theatre for newspapers and radio.
