advertisement

Top-notch First Folio cast brings out best in Neil Simon comedy

The adage “good things come to those who wait” may not always be accurate, but it's true with recent productions of “Laughter on the 23rd Floor.”

Less than six months after Eclectic Full Contact Theatre transferred its Chicago production of Neil Simon's 1993 Broadway comedy to the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre in Arlington Heights, a better-acted version of the same play is now being staged by First Folio Theatre in Oak Brook.

Eclectic's cast was probably closer in age collectively to the Young Turk comedy writers like Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Larry Gelbart and Simon himself, who all got their first major breaks writing for Sid Caesar's hit 1950s TV variety show “Your Show of Shows.” But the older and more experienced First Folio cast is much more adept at believably putting over these New Yorker writer-comedians as they are adapted and fictionalized by Simon in “Laughter on the 23rd Floor.”

That's extremely important because Simon puts more emphasis on his eccentric characters than on a high-stakes plot. That's not to say that “Laughter on the 23rd Floor” doesn't touch on issues — such as the specter of blacklists by the Communist-obsessed Sen. Joseph McCarthy and network demands for writers to dumb down their material. But these take a back seat to Simon's focus on his nostalgically memorialized characters, so the play loses a lot if you don't have a strong ensemble to deliver on all the situational comedy setups.

Take for instance Kevin McKillip's masterfully zany take on Ira, a hypochondriac and perpetually late comedy writer. Simon positions Ira's first entrance in Act I to be a bulldozing comic force that commands the audience's attention for a hyperbolic build up to a big bathroom-humor joke. McKillip is more than up to the challenge, and his Ira stands out as one of the show's best performances thanks to jittery and wiry-limbed physical antics and his odd combination of being both intensely focused and distractingly spaced out.

Equally oversize and unsettlingly funny is René Ruelas as Max Prince, Simon's paranoid and easily enraged stand-in for Sid Caesar. Prince is in the direct firing line on so many fronts, and Ruelas comically delivers on mounting frustrations and pent-up anger that explode with lots of force.

Along with managing these big showy performances, director Alison C. Vesely makes sure other members of the ensemble get their moments to shine. They do so amid the lovely 1950s period production design work of costumer Emily Waecker and set designer Angela Weber Miller.

Andrew Behlin is engaging as Lucas, the shy new guy and the show's narrator who lets the audience in on the secrets of the writers. They include the costume gimmick guy Milt (Wayne Temple), overly educated Kenny (Steve Schine), ambitious Brian (Steve Peebles), ever-adaptable Carol (Haley Rice) who blends in to be just one of the cussing guys and bossy Russian immigrant Val (a commanding Joe Foust, even if his Slavic accent sometimes slipped on opening night).

Secretary Helen (Callie Johnson) is also fun as you see her happily put up with the adjacent craziness and realize the hard way how difficult making comedy can be.

“Laughter on the 23rd Floor” isn't considered to be one of Simon's most indestructible comic works, but it can be very satisfying if you have the right casting combination. And First Folio Theatre delivers just that.

Hypochondriac comedy writer Ira (Kevin McKillip), left, arrives late to work once again with a new ailment as his colleagues Lucas (Andrew Behling), center, and Milt (Wayne Temple) look on in First Folio Theatre's production of "Laughter on the 23rd Floor." Courtesy of First Folio Theatre
Actor/writer Max Prince (René Ruelas), right, asks his secretary, Helen (Callie Johnson), to get his suit cleaned as comedy room writers Brian (Steve Peebles), Carol (Haley Rice) and Milt (Wayne Temple) look on in First Folio Theatre's production of Neil Simon's "Laughter on the 23rd Floor." Courtesy of First Folio Theatre
Actor/writer Max Prince (René Ruelas), second from right, gets violent over a joke with comedy writer Ira (Kevin McKillip), on the couch, as colleagues Lucas (Andrew Behling), far left, Brian (Steve Peebles) and Val (Joe Foust) try to intervene in "Laughter on the 23rd Floor" at Mayslake Peabody Estate in Oak Brook. Courtesy of First Folio Theatre

“Laughter on the 23rd Floor”

★ ★ ★

<b>Location:</b> First Folio Theatre at Mayslake Peabody Estate, 31st Street and Route 83, Oak Brook, (630) 986-8067 or <a href="http://firstfolio.org">firstfolio.org</a>

<b>Showtimes:</b> 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday; through March 1

<b>Tickets:</b> $29-$39; $25-$35 seniors and students

<b>Running time:</b> Two hours and 10 minutes with intermission

<b>Parking:</b> Nearby free lots

<b>Rating:</b> For teens and older; includes adult language

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.