"Laughter on the 23rd Floor" - by Neil Simon - Barnstable Comedy Club (Barnstable, MA.) - AUDITIONS
Barnstable Comedy Club
Will Hold AUDITIONS
for Neil Simon's
"LAUGHTER ON THE 23RD FLOOR"
Written by Neil Simon
Director Alex Lucchesi
Open auditions will be held for "LAUGHTER ON THE 23RD FLOOR" by Neil Simon
AUDITION DATES:
February 16, 2025 from 2:00pm until 4:00pm
February 17 and 18, 2025 from 6:00pm until 8:00pm
Auditions and Performances to be held at BARNSTABLE COMEDY CLUB, 3171 Main Street, The Village Hall, Barnstable, MA. 02630.
SEEKING:
A cast of 2 women and 7 men for this comedy.
Actors should be prepared to read from pre-selected sides from the script.
Perusal scripts are available at both the Sturgis Library and the Hyannis Public Library.
The show opens on May 1, 2025 and runs for consecutive weekends through May 18, 2025.
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.
For more information, please call # 508-362-6333.
Performances:
May 1, 2025 through May 18, 2025
(Contact Box Office for Exact Times)
Performances held at BARNSTABLE COMEDY CLUB, 3171 Main Street, The Village Hall, Barnstable, MA. 02630
TICKETS:
For tickets and more information, call Phone # 508-362-6333 or visit barnstablecomedyclub@gmail.com
BUY TICKETS
COVID-19 PROTOCOLS
Please consult directly with venue for latest COVID-19 and any other health and safety protocols.
ABOUT THE SHOW
Lucas Brickman is a young comedy writer trying to prove himself in the fraternal writers room for “The Max Prince Show,” one of the country’s most popular variety shows.
It’s 1953, and with McCarthyism running rampant, the network demanding budget cuts, and a host who can’t manage to stay sober, things aren’t looking good.
Playwright Neil Simon, a television comedy writer himself, wrote "LAUGHTER ON THE 23RD FLOOR" as a roman a clef: the characters are based on real people but given fictional names:
- There’s the flashy Milt, who prefers quantity over quality when it comes to jokes.
- Ira, the hypochondriac agitator.
- Val, the fussy Russian immigrant.
- Brian, who claims to have somehow sold a screenplay he’s yet to write
- The sophisticated Kenny,
- And the defensive Carol, the sole female writer.
Packed with Simon’s characteristic wit and offbeat characters, this ensemble comedy offers a fly-on-the-wall look at a zany TV writers room and the colorful personalities inside it. (STAGEAGENT).
ABOUT BARNSTABLE COMEDY CLUB
For many years the name BARNSTABLE COMEDY CLUB alone has confused and surprised many. BARNSTABLE COMEDY CLUB IS NOT a "comedy club" in the sense that it is a stand-up club or a venue for similar performances. BARNSTABLE COMEDY CLUB is a community theater with a big emphasis on the word "community"! Generally BARNSTABLE COMEDY CLUB produces four main shows per season, which include a musical and three plays beginning in November through May as well as other special events such as the Annual Barnstable Village Stroll, staged readings, and acting and directing workshops. As the oldest running, live community theater on Cape Cod and one of the oldest in America, BARNSTABLE COMEDY CLUB strives to bring excellence to all patrons, volunteers, members and to the community. BARNSTABLE COMEDY CLUB is a MA 501(3)(c) nonprofit volunteer driven organization. Dedicated volunteers work in all areas of the theater from front of the house to performers to production to our Board of Directors.
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box # 361
Barnstable, MA. 02630
# 508-362-6333
