Laughter on the 23rd Floor ? The Navigator

Photo by Brett Durda

A raspy voice boomed through the audience, welcoming them to and warning them of the entertainment and stipulations yet to come. ?A soft purple light shrouded the 50?s style office on the stage of the Ross Theater on Feb. 16 while Max Prince, played by junior Nick Boucher, spoke in his Brooklyn accent to an excited audience. The opening night of ?Laughter on the 23^rd Floor? was full of life, energy and fate all tangled with the shoelaces of the broad spectrum of human emotions.

Clothes came off, tongues were loose and the characters rose and fell in the tidal waves of the blooming film industry of the 1950?s. Written by comedian Neil Simon, the world?s most successful playwright according to pbs.org, the play is a nostalgic look back on his experience as a screenwriter for a top rated comedy show, called the Show of Shows (called the Max Prince Show in the play), as it slipped from popularity.? So, let?s take it from the top.

In the opening scene, we are introduced to the narrator, the young Lucas Brickman who is the newest member on the writing staff of Max Prince and the audience?s insight to the unfurling drama of working on the 23rd?floor. ?He was clean-cut, bright-eyed and alone in the writing room, early and eager to prove himself during his ?trial run? as a comedy writer. He was initially presented as nervous but optimistic. His voice?was?shaky at first, but by the end of the act he found his confidence.

After Lucas enlightens the audience about the scene, Milt?enters, played by??junior Brian Trumble,?who brings all the energy and perspective of a man torn between two worlds and two women ??his mistress and his wife. He welcomes Lucas to the studio after getting his name wrong several times, and their Russian boss Val, played by sophomore Wayne Woodson, came in rather distraught. ?While Val was out on the town, their charmingly psychotic comedian employer, Max Prince, called after taking two ?grenade-sized? tranquilizers, washing them down with alcohol, and proceeded in to speak incomprehensibly to Val?s Peruvian maid.

Understandably, when Max fails to show up on time, Val is concerned. His brow furrows further when he receives word from Kenny, played by freshman Brandon Hoffman, a sort of boy genius in the comedic world, that Max called him as well the previous evening before Val, of course stating he had received another threatening letter at his personal address. With their last word of Max being that he had a loaded shotgun in his lap with a brain flooded with medicine and alcohol, the group grew anxious for Max?s arrival.

With the arrival of Brian, played by transfer student Jordan Smith, and Carol, played by senior Michele McGovern, the news becomes grimmer; Sen. McCarthy accused Gen. Marshall of being soft on communism.? In a room full of comedians, the mood didn?t stay dark for too long. Even with the much anticipated arrival of Max, the darkness had a difficult time hanging on between all the laughter.

Max?s first steadfast steps onto the stage led the audience into the verbally-violent battle between him and the corporate giants at NBC. With memos and crew socks up to their necks, NBC tightened its grasp around Max by demanding a cut in air time and less economical waste in his office. After a colorful conversation about NBC?s ?threatening letters,? Val confronted Max about his tranquilizer and alcohol problem.

Max retires to his office to take a call from NBC; then Ira enters the stage. A hypochondriac, Ira believes he is having a stroke, demands reactions from his fellow cast members who blatantly ignore him, and is greatly relieved when he only had gas. Carol might have killed him if Brian had not held her back, and soon Ira is faced with angry co-workers who felt he contributed nothing.

Max returns and rants about his call with NBC. After announcing the call had gone ?fine,? Max clarified to his crew that NBC was fine with what they decided ??to have an observer on the set and cut the budget and the airtime of the show ??but ?we [the show?s crew] are not so fine.? ?This announcement follows through to the rest of the act.

It is seven months later when Lucas is a contracted staff writer and Max has agreed to the terms NBC outlined, though no observer was mentioned. Lucas witnesses first hand one of Max?s tranquilizer episodes; the stressed comedian walked in the office half-comatose, fell asleep standing up, and ran into the door on his way out. When Milt arrives a little later in a white suit, Val tells him that Max has always hated white suits and also that someone from the staff would have to be fired.

By this point, Carol successfully got pregnant, and when everyone else arrived they began to work on the script. The weeks show was about Marvin Brando ?in his first completely memorized part? as Julius Caesar. Things seemed to be going well until the ?A Street Car Named Desire? joke came up during the read through and Max gave credit to Kenny when it was Ira?s joke.

Ira wanted his due credit, and the confrontation caused both men to become livid. People were shoved, men were fired and choked (specifically Ira), and the Stella joke was eaten. Max demanded that Ira spit the joke out, which Ira contended to if Max told him that he loved him. Ira eventually spits out the joke and is no longer fired. Eventually, Brian left for Hollywood so no one had to be fired.

The last scene took place at a Christmas party in 1953. At the party Helen, played by senior Janae Lafleur, Max?s secretary, confesses that she wanted to write comedy. Max?s announcement on the other hand was that they ?won against NBC?, that they were free. In other words, the show would be ending. ?I would have followed Max to the ends of the earth,? Lucas said. Unfortunately, the earth (the show) went off the air on June 1.

Overall, this play was masterfully presented.?The actors were highly energetic, the humor hit home, and the content was rich.

?It was hilarious,? said junior Michelle Gaza.

?They were very eccentric, the actors, and it was very funny,? said freshman Justin Keller.

On the closing night of the show the cast made valiant attempts to improvise the show despite a power outage. With lines like ?who forgot to pay the electric bill? and ?Damn you NBC,? the actors kept the audience laughing. When it became evident that the lights weren?t coming back, the audience was given a summary of the play and it was cut short.

In the end, the presentation of the play and the play itself on every night was ?really good and very funny,? said freshman Jessica Carson.

2raspy voice boomed through the audience, welcoming them to and warning them of the entertainment and stipulations yet to come. A soft purple light shrouded the 50?s style office on the stage of the Ross Theater on Thursday, Feb. 16 while Max Prince (Played by Junior Nick Boucher) spoke in his Brooklyn accent to an excited audience. The opening night of Laughter on the 23^rd Floor was full of life, energy, and fate all tangled with the shoelaces of the broad spectrum of human emotions.

Clothes came off, tongues were loose, and the characters rose and fell in the tidal waves of the blooming film industry of the 1950?s. Written by comedian Neil Simon (the world?s most successful playwright according to pbs.org), the play is a nostalgic look back on his experience as a screenwriter for a top rated comedy show, called the Show of Shows(called the Max Prince Show in the play), as it slipped from popularity. So, let?s take it from the top.

In the opening scene, we are introduced our narrator the young Lucas Brickman who is the newest member on the writing staff of Max Prince and our insight to the unfurling drama of working on the 23^rd floor. He was clean-cut, bright-eyed and alone in the writing room, early and eager to prove himself during his ?trial run? as a comedy writer. He was initially presented as nervous but optimistic, his was voice shaky at first but by the end of the act he found his confidence.

After Lucas enlightens the audience about the scene, enter Milt (Junior Brian Trumble), who brings all the energy and perspective of a man torn between two worlds (and two women- his mistress and his wife). He welcomes Lucas to the studio after getting his name wrong several times and their Russian boss Val (Sophomore Wayne Woodson) came in rather distraught. While Val was out on the town, their charmingly psychotic comedian employer, Max Prince, called after taking two ?grenade-sized? tranquilizers, washing them down with alcohol, and proceeded in to speak incomprehensibly to Val?s Peruvian maid.

Understandably, when Max fails to show up on time, Val is concerned. His brow furrows further when he receives word from Kenny (Freshman Brandon Hoffman), a sort of boy genius in the comedic world, that Max called him as well the previous evening (before Val, of course) stating he had received another threatening letter at his personal address. With their last word of Max was that he had a loaded shotgun in his lap and a brain flooded with medicine and alcohol, the group grew anxious for Max?s arrival.

With arrival of Brian (Transfer student Jordan Smith) and Carol (Senior Michele McGovern) the news becomes grimmer- Senator McCarthy accused General Marshall of being soft on communism. In a room full of comedians, the mood didn?t stay dark for too long. Even with the much anticipated arrival of Max, the darkness had a difficult time hanging on between all the laughter.

Max?s first steadfast steps onto the stage led the audience into the verbally-violent battle between him and the corporate giants at NBC. With memos and crew socks up to their necks, NBC tightened its grasp around Max by demanding a cut in air time and less economical waste in his office. After a colorful conversation about NBC?s ?threatening letters?, Val confronted Max about his tranquilizer and alcohol problem.

Max retires to his office to take a call from NBC then Ira enters the stage. A hypochondriac, Ira believes he is having a stroke, demands reactions from his fellow cast members (who blatantly ignore him), and he is greatly relieved when he only had gas. Carol might have killed him if Brian had not held her back and soon Ira is faced with angry co-workers who felt he contributed nothing.

Max returns and rants about his call with NBC. After announcing the call had gone ?fine?, Max clarified to his crew that NBC was fine with what they decided (to have an observer on the set, cut the budget, and the airtime of the show) but ?we [the show?s crew] is not so fine.? This announcement follows through to the rest of the act.

It is seven months later, Lucas is a contracted staff writer and Max agreed to the terms NBC outlined, though no observer was mentioned. Lucas witnesses first hand one of max?s tranquilizer episodes- the stressed comedian walked in the office half-comatose, fell asleep standing up, and ran into the door on his way out. When Milt arrives a little later in a white suit, Val tells him Max has always hated white suits and also someone from the staff would have to be fired.

By this point, Carol successfully got pregnant and when everyone else arrived, they began to work on the script. The weeks show was about Marvin Brando ?in his first completely memorized part? as Julius Caesar. Things seemed to be going well until the A street Car Named Desire joke came up during the read through and Max gave credit to Kenny when it was Ira?s joke.

Ira wanted his due credit and the confrontation caused both men to become livid- people we shoved, men were fired and choked [specifically Ira], and the Stella joke was eaten. Max demanded that Ira spit the joke out which Ira contended to if Max told him that he loved him. Ira eventually spits out the joke and is no longer fired. Eventually, Brian left for Hollywood so no one had to be fired.

The last scene took place at a Christmas party in 1963. At the party Helen (Senior Janae Lafleur), Max?s secretary, confesses that she wanted to write comedy. Max?s announcement on the other hand was that they ?won against NBC? that they were free. In other words, the show would be ending. ?I would have followed Max to the ends of the earth? Lucas said. Unfortunately, the earth [the show] went off the air on June 1^st.

Run the weeks show Julius ceaser and mallin brando. They make a street car named desire joke Stella- max give credit to Kenny but ira wants credit for the joke he wrote, gets fired says he;s taking stella, max chokes him on table says he?ll ive it back if he says he loves him ira rips joke out of script put it back ira proceeds to put it in his mouth it?s a funny joke but it tastes like shit, everyone laughs nervously joke I love you ua shmuck why don?t you love me max chokes for the 2^nd time spits out not fired anymore finishes script the Christmas have Christmas party Helen confesses to milt, Brian comes back to visit from Hollywood max announces that they won freedom they?ll wait but show would be ending. Max exits- says he was noble there will never be another max prince slowly leaves lucus tells I?d folled max to the end of the earth but the earth went off the air Jun. 1 1954.

Overall, this play was masterfully presented. ?It was hilarious,? said junior Michelle Gaz. The actors were highly energetic, the humor hit home, and the content was rich.

?They were very eccentric, the actors, and it was very funny? said freshman Justin Keller.

On the closing night of the show the cast made valiant attempts to improvise the show despite a power outage. With lines like ?who forgot to pay the electric bill? and ?Damn you NBC?, the actors kept the audience laughing. When it became evident that the lights weren?t coming back, the audience was given a summary of the play and it was cut short.

In the end, the presentation of the play and the play itself on every night was ?Really good and very funny,? said freshman Jessica Carson.

Source: http://navigator.ju.edu/index.php/2012/02/22/laughter-on-the-23rd-floor-2/

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