''Enter Laughing'' is a 1963 play by Joseph Stein. Alan Arkin - 1963

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical comedy, physical humor; the use of delibe ...

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, author, comedian, director and screenwriter whose career spanned seven decades. He was the List of awards and nominations received by Carl Reiner, recipient of many awards and ...

. 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. The cast included

Alan Arkin Alan Wolf Arkin (March 26, 1934 – June 29, 2023) was an American actor, filmmaker and musician. In a career spanning seven decades, he received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony A ...

, Vivian Blaine,

Sylvia Sidney Sylvia Sidney (born Sophia Kosow; August 8, 1910 – July 1, 1999) was an American stage, screen, and film actress whose career spanned 70 years. She rose to prominence in dozens of leading roles in the 1930s. She was nominated for the Academy ...

, Michael J. Pollard, and

Alan Mowbray Alan Mowbray MM (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 ...

. 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 * Vivian Blaine as Angela *

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 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 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 a 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 for his performance.

Adaptations

Reiner co-wrote the screenplay with Stein for the 1967 film version, directed by Reiner and starring Reni Santoni as David,

José Ferrer José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican actor and director of stage, film and television. He was one of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hi ...

as Marlowe,

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

as Mrs. Kolowitz, and

Elaine May Elaine Iva May (née Berlin; born April 21, 1932) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and director. She first gained fame in the 1950s for her improvisational comedy routines with Mike Nichols before transitioning her career, regularly b ...

as Angela. The play served as the basis for the ill-fated 1976 musical '' So Long, 174th Street''. ''Enter Laughing'' was revived Off-Broadway as a musical in 2008 by The

York Theatre The York Theatre Company is an Off-Broadway theatre company based on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. Established in 1969, The York is the only theater in New York City, and one of the few in the world, whose two-fold missio ...

Company. With music and lyrics by Stan Daniels, the production starred Josh Grisetti 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 Theatre World Award 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, Magnes Jarmo, Michael Kostroff, Paul Kreppel,

Robert Picardo Robert Alphonse Picardo (born October 27, 1953) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the Doctor on '' Star Trek: Voyager''. He also appeared as Richard Woolsey in the ''Stargate'' franchise, the Cowboy in '' Innerspace'', Coach ...

, Nathan Salstone, David Schramm, Allie Trimm 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