Neil Simon's “The Prisoner of Second Avenue” opens Friday June 18
Is Mel Edison going crazy? Or is the whole world tumbling off a
cliff?
Neil Simon turns one man’s mid-life crisis into humor at its
biting best in “The Prisoner of Second
Avenue,” the third mainstage show of Key City Public
Theatre’s 2010 season. The classic comedy, directed by Amanda
Steurer, opens at Key City Playhouse on Friday, June 18
and runs through July 11.
Having just lost his job in middle-age, Mel Edison and his wife
Edna struggle to keep their sanity amid a summer heat wave, a
prolonged garbage strike, noisy neighbors, a broken
refrigerator, and plenty of temper tantrums in the crowded
loneliness of their small Manhattan apartment.
Meanwhile, Mel’s three sisters and older brother banter and carp
about what to do about Mel. How can they support their “little
brother” as he flirts with a full-blown nervous breakdown?
Originally running for nearly two years on Broadway, Neil
Simon’s play takes place in the economic downturn of the early
1970’s, but the angst that drives the comedy is remarkably
relevant in 2010. “There are no jobs for 47-year-old men!” wails
Mel, “Is the whole world going out of business?” A recent
revival of the play prompted The New York Times to write, “Boy,
do we feel your pain, Mel and Edna!”
The
cast includes Dave Cunningham and Erin Lamb as Mel and Edna
Edison, with Iris Bracey, David Hillman, Audrey Jean, and Marcia
Perlstein as the siblings.
Cunningham made his KCPT debut as Nephew Fred in last year’s
“Scrooge The Musical.” An author and produced screenwriter, he
has appeared in a film and several television series, and won a
community theater best actor award for one of his many stage
appearances in California.
Erin Lamb, a veteran of numerous KCPT productions, appeared most
recently in “The Farm in the Neighborhood” at this year’s
Playwrights’ Festival.
Amanda Steurer, having recently appeared in three mainstage
shows at KCPT, including “Scrooge The Musical” and “The
Seagull,” is directing her first production. “I’ve lived in New
York and felt imprisoned by things I ‘had to have’ — a certain
job, a certain lifestyle,” comments Steurer. “All of us can
become prisoners of our own expectations. With loving and absurd
humor, Neil Simon shows us how one man had to lose his way to
eventually break free.”
The set and costumes by Terry Tennyson and Dessa McFadden bring
the 1970’s affectionately back to life.
Key
City Playhouse is located at 419 Washington St. in Port
Townsend. Curtain times are Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m.;
Thursdays and Sundays at 7:00 p.m. Informal “AfterWords”
discussions with members of the cast and artistic staff follow
all Thursday performances.
General admission for Fridays and Saturdays is $18; Thursdays
and Sundays $15. Students $10 at all shows. The two
pay-what-you-wish performances, sponsored by the PT Arts
Commission, are Sun. June 20 and Thu. June 24. The production is
generously sponsored by Rod Schmidt, PsyD. Licensed
Psychologist.
Advance tickets for KCPT productions are available in three
ways. With cash or check, visit Quimper Sound at 230 Taylor St.,
Port Townsend. With a debit or credit card, call 360-379-0195.
Online, purchase tickets on the show calendar at
keycitypublictheatre.org.
For more information, call the KCPT show info line at
360-385-7396 or visit keycitypublictheatre.org.
You can purchase tickets here online using our KCPT calendar.
Photos by Lew Stock and Phil Baumgaertner / KCPT
# # #
Back to previous page