LAUGHTER ON THE 23rd FLOOR
By Neil Simon
Directed by Alex Lucchesi
Open auditions will be held on February 16 from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM and on February 17 and 18 from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM at the Club's theater.
Actors will be asked to read from the script. Perusal copies have been placed at the Hyannis Public Library and Sturgis Library.
Director Alex Lucchesi seeks a cast of 2 Women and 7 Men for this memorable look into TV of the past and the writers who worked together and wrote the comedic material.
Production Dates: Opening on Thursday, May 1 at 7:30 and running for 3 weekends through May 18, 2025 on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 PM; Sunday at 2:30 PM
CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS
LUCAS BRICKMAN: (mid-late twenties): Lucas has just started his second week as a writer on The Max Prince show. He’s on a four-week “try-out” contract. He’s very much “the new guy” among an already-legendary writing staff, trying to fit in, become one of the group, and impress everyone enough to be hired permanently. He is also among the least neurotic of the bunch.
MILT FIELDS: (early 30s): Milt is a rapid-fire joke machine. He considers himself to be a cheap “wholesaler” among the other writers, who are “Tiffany” quality. Highly insecure, he tries to stand out by dressing flamboyantly and attempting to be a ladies’ man.
VAL SLOTSKY: (early 40s): Val is the senior member of the staff, and the most politically aware of the bunch. As a Russian Immigrant, he speaks with a strong accent. He is self-deprecating in an-your-face kind of way. He states his philosophy in the play: All humor is based on hostility.
BRIAN DOYLE: (early 30s): A chain smoker and heavy drinker, Brian epitomizes the cynical, hard-living writer. He’s acerbic, bitter and has grandiose ideas that, any moment now, Hollywood will come calling. He and Ira are constantly at each other’s throats.
KENNY FRANKS: (mid-twenties): Kenny is the golden boy of the group – highly respected by all despite the fact that he’s the youngest, he’s sophisticated, worldly and self-assured.
CAROL WYMAN: (late 20s): Carol is the lone woman on the writing staff. She is a veteran of the industry, having survived, and thrived, in this male dominated environment. In the first act, she’s been trying to get pregnant. In the second act, it is obvious she has succeeded. She is more mature and self-aware than most of her colleagues but is every bit as passionate and quick witted.
MAX PRINCE: (early 30s): Max Prince is the star of the most popular show on television: The Max Prince Show. Like the characters he plays each week on camera, He is larger than life off camera as well. When he enters a room, he FILLS the room. He has a brilliant madness to him that is exacerbated by his use of alcohol and sleeping pills to fight his perpetual insomnia; increasingly, it either dissipates into disorientation or devolves into out-and-out paranoia. He is a comic genius with a work ethic that is equally impressive. He is a serious professional – and a seriously funny man. He does everything with gusto, exuberance, passion and abandon.
HELEN: (late 20s) Helen is the quintessential secretary for the group. She is kind-hearted and in awe of the talent she is privileged to be so close to. Her dream is to become a comedy writer herself. Unfortunately, she does not possess an ounce of comedic talent. But she is amiable and, although she is uneducated, she is self-possessed and unafraid to speak her mind.
IRA STONE: (late 20s) Ira is the most annoying member of the writing team – by far. He is a chronic hypochondriac and shameless attention seeker who is also extremely argumentative. Although he is late for work every day, and generally disruptive it is always he who is the victim. Unfortunately, he is also extremely funny and very inventive. If you don’t kill him, you kind of like him. He and Brian are always at each other’s throats.
SYNOPSIS
Laughter on the 23rd Floor gives a glimpse into the world Neil Simon which he first took part in as a writer in the early days of television. It opened on Broadway in 1993 and was made into a movie starring Nathan Lane in 2001. His writing has been described as “sophisticated urban humor” written to depict the “silent majority” and their frustrations, imperfections, insecurities in dealing with marriage, friendships, business and all relationships.
This side-splitting comedy follows the writing, fighting, and wacky 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, including Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Sid Caesar and the great Jackie Gleason. (This Play Contains Adult Language)
Copyright © 2024 Barnstable Comedy Club. All Rights Reserved.
DIAL M FOR MURDER
Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher
From the original by Frederick Knott
Directed by James F. Ring
Open auditions will take place on Dec. 6, 2024 (Friday) from 6-8 PM, and on Dec 7th and 8th from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM at the Club's theater.
Casting available for 2 Women and 3 Men.
Earlier auditions may be arranged via email to jring.ring@gmail.com.
Actors will be asked to read from the script. Perusal scripts have been placed at the Hyannis Public Library and Sturgis Library.
Rehearsals will take place in January and February 2025.
Production Dates: Opening Thursday, March 6 at 7:30 PM and running for 3 weekends through March 23, 2025
on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 PM; Sunday at 2:30 PM
CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS
MARGOT WENDICE: Female. 30’s/40’s. English accent. Margot’s a wealthy socialite married to a man beneath her station (Tony). As the play opens she’s recommitted herself to her marriage after bringing her torrid affair with one of Tony’s colleagues (Maxine) to an end. She’s confident Maxine won’t disclose their past intimacies because, in 1950’s London, this would expose both of them to criminal prosecution.
MAXINE HADLEY: Female. 30’s/40’s. American accent. Maxine’s a successful crime novelist who works with Tony and is one of his former flames. Although she longs to rekindle her prior relationship with Margot she attempts to abide by Margot’s new boundaries and to confine herself to the role of a platonic friend.
TONY WENDICE: Male. 30’s/40’s. English accent. Sophisticated, articulate and cunning, Tony’s a failed novelist now reduced to toiling away as a publicity agent for Maxine’s British publisher. He’s financially dependent upon Margot, who has access to a private family fortune that Tony covets. Unbeknownst to Margot and Maxine, Tony’s fully aware of their illicit dalliances because, while rifling through one of Margot’s handbags, he found (and pocketed) a lurid letter from Maxine seeking to reignite Margot’s passions by recalling, in salacious detail, some of their past encounters.
LESGATE: Male. 30’s/40’s. English accent. A professional cad with a long history of victimizing wealthy women. He’s gone by several names in an effort to avoid drawing attention from law enforcement. But Tony’s been surreptitiously surveilling him for years and - via a clever use of Maxine’s licentious letter to Margot and a bit of Margot’s cash – Tony’s able to manipulate Lesgate into doing his bidding.
INSPECTOR HUBBARD: Male. 40’s to 70’s. English accent. When events take an unexpected turn, the Inspector enters and oversees the ensuing inquiry. He’s highly intelligent and observant but tends to reflexively doubt and assume the worst about people he views as sexual deviants. Yet he’s committed to uncovering the truth.
SYNOPSIS
Jeffrey Hatcher’s 2021 adaptation of Dial M for Murder, the classic British thriller by Frederick Knott. Set in London in the 1950’s, the play’s intricate, fast-moving plot involves pathological deceit, marital infidelity, blackmail and murder. The subtle changes made in Hatcher’s adaptation have been uniformly praised for ratcheting up the play’s tension and resonance for contemporary audiences.
INTO THE BREECHES!
By George Brant
Directed by Steve Lajoie
Open auditions will be held on November 11, 12 & 13 from 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM at the Club's theater.
Actors will be asked to read from script. Perusal copies of the script have been placed at the Hyannis Public Library
and Sturgis Library . Director Steve Lajoie seeks a cast of 6 women and 2 men for this hilarious and
heartwarming play. Rehearsals will begin after November 18.
Production Dates: Opening Thursday, January 9 at 7:30 PM and running for 3 weekends through January 26, 2025
on Friday & Saturday at 7:20 PM; Sunday at 2:30 PM
CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS
MAGGIE DALTON: White female, 50s. The earnest and devoted director of the play, who also takes on the role of The Chorus in Henry V. Maggie is eager to prove herself and sustain the theater.
CELESTE FIELDING: White female, 50s. A flamboyant diva who portrays Henry IV and V. She is dramatic, larger-than-life, and embraces her role with enthusiasm.
IDA GREEN: Black female, late 20s-30s. An inventive costume designer who also plays Hotspur. Ida is creative and brings a unique vision to the production.
STUART LASKER: Male, 40s. The stage manager and the only man in the troupe, Stuart also takes on the role of Mistress Quickly.
ELLSWORTH SNOW: White male, 60s. The board president of the Oberon Playhouse and husband of Winifred. He is supportive of his wife’s theatrical pursuits.
WINIFRED SNIOW: White female, 50s. Enthusiastic but lacking in talent, Winifred plays Falstaff and brings a cheerful spirit to the cast. She is the socialite wife of Ellsworth.
JUNE BENNETT: White female, 20s. The ingénue who plays the Kates. June brings youthful energy and charm to the production.
GRACE RICHARDS: White female, 30s. A new arrival in town with raw acting talent, Grace takes on the demanding roles of Henry IV and V.
SYNOPSIS
Set in 1942, Into the Breeches explores the challenges faced by the "Local Playhouse" when its director and leading men are called to war. The director’s wife steps in to keep the theater’s spirit alive by staging an ambitious all-female production of Shakespeare’s Henry V. Despite a diverse range of theater experience, this unexpected team unites in a heartfelt effort to bring the play to life, celebrating the power of art and community to reveal our bravest selves even in the most trying times. This modern and moving comedy highlights resilience, collaboration, and the joy of overcoming adversity.
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