''Enter Laughing'' is a 1963 play by

Joseph Stein Joseph Stein (May 30, 1912 – October 24, 2010) was an American playwright best known for writing the books for such musicals as ''Fiddler on the Roof'' and '' Zorba''. Biography Born in New York City to Jewish parents, Charles and Emma ( ...

A farce in two acts, it is based on the semi-autobiographical novel by

Carl Reiner Carl Reiner (March 20, 1922 – June 29, 2020) was an American actor, stand-up comedian, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned seven decades. He was the recipient of many awards and honors, including 11 Primetime Emmy Awards, ...

. The action centers on the journey of young aspiring actor David Kolowitz as he tries to extricate himself from overly protective parents (who want him to be a married pharmacist) and two too many girlfriends, while struggling to meet the challenge of his lack of talent in 1930s New York City. The Broadway production opened on March 13, 1963, and ran for over a year. It marked the Broadway directorial debut of

Gene Saks Gene Saks (born Jean Michael Saks; November 8, 1921 – March 28, 2015) was an American director and actor. An inductee of the American Theater Hall of Fame, his acting career began with a Broadway debut in 1949. As a director, he was nominated ...

. The cast included

Alan Arkin Alan Wolf Arkin (born March 26, 1934) is an American actor, director and screenwriter known for his performances on stage and screen. Throughout his career spanning over six decades, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award ...

Vivian Blaine Vivian Blaine (born Vivian Stapleton; November 21, 1921 – December 9, 1995) was an American actress and singer, best known for originating the role of Miss Adelaide in the musical theater production of ''Guys and Dolls'', as well as appearin ...

, Sylvia Sidney, Michael J. Pollard, and

Alan Mowbray Alan Mowbray (born Alfred Ernest Allen; 18 August 1896 – 25 March 1969) was an English stage and film actor who found success in Hollywood. Early life Mowbray was born in London, England. He served with distinction in the British Army in Wo ...

. Arkin won a Tony for his performance.

Original cast

In order of appearance: * Irving Jacobson as Mr. Foreman *

as David Kolowitz * Michael J. Pollard as Marvin * Meg Myles as Miss B. *Charles Randall as Pike *Pierre Epstein as Don Baxter *Walt Wanderman as Don Darwin *

as Marlowe *

as Angela * Sylvia Sidney as Mother *Marty Greene as Father *Barbara Dana as Wanda *Shimen Ruskin as Waiter *Monroe Arnold as Roger *Tom Gorman as Lawyer

Reception

''Enter Laughing'' opened March 13, 1963 at

Henry Miller's Theatre The Stephen Sondheim Theatre, formerly Henry Miller's Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 124 West 43rd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Owned by the Durst Organization and managed by the Roundabout Theatre ...

and ran through March 14, 1964, for 419 performances. It was well received by critics and audiences.

Howard Taubman Hyman Howard Taubman (July 4, 1907 – January 8, 1996) was an American music critic, theater critic, and author. Biography Born in Manhattan, Taubman attended DeWitt Clinton High School and then won a four-year scholarship to Cornell University, ...

wrote in the ''New York Times'' review that "the major complaint ... is that it doesn't provide enough rest periods between side-splitting laughs" and called Arkin's performance "a choice specimen of a shrewd actor ribbing his profession". In ''The Nation'',

Harold Clurman Harold Edgar Clurman (September 18, 1901 – September 9, 1980) was an American theatre director and drama critic. In 2003, he was named one of the most influential figures in U.S. theater by PBS.

called it an example of how the "deterioration of the Broadway theatre may be discerned in the fact that inconsequential scripts are frequently done more competently than serious ones"; Clurman, too, singled out Arkin for praise. Arkin won both the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for Best Featured Actor in a Play and the

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or Off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945–1946 theatre se ...

for his performance.

Adaptations

Reiner co-wrote the screenplay with Stein for the 1967

film version A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

, directed by Reiner and starring

Reni Santoni Reni may refer to: Places * Reni, Alwar, Alwar district, Rajasthan, India * Reni, Chamoli (also ''Raini''), Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, India, devastated by the 2021 Uttarakhand flood * Reni, Churu, Churu district, Rajasthan, India * Reni, U ...

as David,

José Ferrer José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Rican actor and director of stage, film and television. He was one of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic American actors during his lifetime, w ...

as Marlowe,

Shelley Winters Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades. She appeared in numerous films. She won Academy Awards for ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959) and ''A Patch o ...

as Mrs. Kolowitz, and Elaine May as Angela. The play served as the basis for the ill-fated 1976 musical ''

So Long, 174th Street ''So Long, 174th Street'' is a musical theatre, musical with a book by Joseph Stein and lyrics and music by Stan Daniels. Based on Stein's play ''Enter Laughing'', which had been adapted from the Carl Reiner book of the same name and served as th ...

''. ''Enter Laughing'' was revived Off-Broadway as a musical in 2008 by The

York Theatre York Theatre is an off-Broadway theatre company based in East Midtown Manhattan, New York City. In its 50th year, York Theatre is dedicated to the production of new musicals and concert productions of forgotten musicals from the past. Each seas ...

Company. With music and lyrics by Stan Daniels, the production starred

Josh Grisetti Josh Grisetti (born December 1, 1981)Josh Grisetti biography
IMDb.com is an American actor, ...

for a limited run. The ''New York Times'' praised the revival as "hilarious" and ''Variety'' reviewer Steven Suskin wrote that "portions bordered on the hysterical". Like Arkin in 1963, Grisetti won the 2009

for his performance. ''Enter Laughing: The Musical'' was revived again Off-Broadway by The York Theatre Company in 2019; running from May 7, 2019 to June 23, 2019. The 2019 revival featured: Raji Ahsan, Farah Alvin, Dana Costello, Ray DeMattis, Chris Dwan,

Alison Fraser Alison Fraser (born in Natick, Massachusetts) is an American actress, voice actress and singer who has appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in television and film. In concert, she has performed at such venues as Carnegie Hall, The White House ...

, Magnes Jarmo,

Michael Kostroff Michael Kostroff (born May 22, 1961) is an American actor. He appeared on the HBO program ''The Wire'' as defense attorney Maurice Levy. Kostroff starred in the fifth season of the series and appeared in all four earlier seasons as a guest star ...

Paul Kreppel Paul Kreppel (born June 20, 1947) is an American actor and director. On television, he was best known as pianist Sonny Mann on the show '' It's a Living''. In his work as theater director-producer-creator, he received the 2007 Tony Award for '' J ...

Robert Picardo Robert Alphonse Picardo (born October 27, 1953) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the Cowboy in '' Innerspace'', Coach Cutlip on '' The Wonder Years'', Captain Dick Richard on the ABC series ''China Beach'', the Doctor on '' S ...

, Nathan Salstone, David Schramm,

Allie Trimm Alexandria "Allie" Trimm (born October 27, 1994) is an American singer and actress, active on Broadway, in regional theater and on television. She began performing in professional theatre in her native San Diego, California at age nine. Trimm mad ...

and Joe Veale.

References

External links

* * * {{Carl Reiner Enter Laughing Enter Laughing Autobiographical plays American plays adapted into films Plays set in New York City Fiction set in the 1930s Biographical plays about actors Plays based on novels