Photo Credit: Ross Zentner
Sid Caesar’s TV program, Your Show of Shows, which ran on NBC in the early ’50s, helped define American humor. One of the writers, Neil Simon, immortalized the zany antics of the writers’ team, the ones who put the jokes in Caesar’s mouth, with a play that is now being performed by Milwaukee’s Next Act Theatre: Laughter on the 23rd Floor.
Let’s get it out of the way: The show isn’t just fun, it’s hilarious—certainly one of the funniest shows in Milwaukee this season. The roomful of comedy writers guarantee several jokes a minute—situational jokes, witty repartee, physical comedy—and all of it is delivered with the sense of timing of professional jokesters. Not all jokes land, especially as some show their age, but a veritable machine gun of humor ensures you will be genuinely laughing. If one punchline fails, you barely notice it, because you’re already being served the next one.
But the show has ambitions beyond garnering laughs. By putting the audience in the same room as writers who got their material from current events in the 1950s, at the height of McCarthyism, Laughter on the 23rd Floor becomes a snapshot of a dark period of American history, when a single word out of line could get one blacklisted, fired or even imprisoned. The characters are endearing, as they are shown to be a close-knit group of friends united by a shared craziness—the Neil Simon avatar admits he was accepted as part of the group only after he doused a table in lighter fluid and lit it on fire. By making us care about the characters, the script tugs at the audience’s heartstrings when the group faces hardship in a changing world that does not appreciate their work.
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Rarely does a cast fit its roles so perfectly that it becomes impossible to imagine anyone else embodying these characters, but it is the case here. David Cecsarini as Max, the Sid Caesar stand-in, brings a gravitas to the stage but knows how to unleash silliness when the moment calls for it, and he steals every scene he is in. It is almost a blessing that many scenes focus solely on the writing staff to give each member a chance to shine, and they do.
Milt (Rick Pendzich) has some of the funniest lines, Carol (Karen Estrada) is the team’s political conscience and Ira (Adam Qutaishat) brings much of his energy and charm to the stage. Mohammad N. ElBsat, Dylan Bolin, Seth K. Hale and Lindsay Webster round out the cast as Val, Brian, Kenny and Helen, respectively, and each adds something valuable. Thanks to Edward Morgan’s direction, the actors evolve seamlessly on the set devised by scenic designer Rick Rasmussen, which is a world teeming with details both authentic and appropriate.
Despite the apparent lack of a plot to follow, Laughter on the 23rd Floor ends up being tight, efficient and easily digested. When coming out of Next Act’s cozy theater, you might not be sure what you just saw, but you will definitely be glad you saw it.
Through Dec. 15 at Next Act Theatre, 255 S. Water St.
