The Court Theatre Lets The Sunshine Boys In

The Court Theatre Lets The Sunshine Boys In

Two old dogs have to learn new shtick in Neil Simon’s comedy THE SUNSHINE BOYS, the first play in The Court Theatre’s TelstraClear 2010-2011 Season, opening on July 24th. In Simon’s comedy, two retired entertainers are made a lucrative offer to reform their vaudeville double-act for a television special. But the pair – now in their seventies – haven’t spoken to one another since their acrimonious split.

“Curiously, THE SUNSHINE BOYS has never been staged in New Zealand before. To me it’s as relevant – and as funny - today as it was 40 years ago,” says director Ross Gumbley. “Simon drew from real-life vaudeville pairs such as Smith and Dale (for their on-stage banter) or Gallagher and Shean (for the backstage animosity) to create two characters that can’t stand each other but together are greater than the sum of their parts.”

Michael Keir-Morrissey makes his Court debut as Willy Clark, living in an apartment surrounded by copies of old “Variety” magazines; veteran Court actor Geoffrey Heath plays Al Lewis, the more successful of the duo following their split. Rounding out the cast are Jonathan Martin (as Willy’s long-suffering nephew /agent), Roslen Langdon, Dan Bain and Eddy Dever.

Gumbley feels his two leads encapsulate the curmudgeonly comedians perfectly. “Geoffrey has a wonderfully dry sense of humour and is great at one-liners; while Michael has the rare gift of being able to perform ‘comedy with heart’. Al and Willy’s dialogue plays like an extended vaudeville routine, which is a testament to Simon’s skill – his characters think in one-liners – as well as to the actors’ skill.”

Neil Simon is one of the most regularly-performed playwrights in the world (notably having had four plays on Broadway at the same time in 1966), as well as a prolific screenwriter; his most internationally recognised work arguably being “The Odd Couple”.

“THE SUNSHINE BOYS is something of a companion piece to plays like WHO WANTS TO BE 100? and HOME LAND – which also deals with issues facing elderly men. It also could be seen as a “sequel” of sorts to BACKSTAGE (set at the height of the vaudeville era); THE SUNSHINE BOYS looks at the fallout for two performers forty years on,” says Gumbley.

The New Zealand première season of THE SUNSHINE BOYS plays at The Court Theatre from July 24th until September 4th.

THE SUNSHINE BOYS by Neil Simon
Directed by: Ross Gumbley
Venue: Court One, The Court Theatre, Christchurch
Cast: Micahael Keir-Morrissey, Geoffrey Heath, Jonathan Martin, Dan Bain, Eddy Dever and Roslen Langdon
Production Dates: 24 July – 4 September 2010
Performances: 6pm Monday / Thursday; 7:30pm Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday (no show Sundays).
2pm matinee Saturday 31 July
Tickets: Adults $45, Senior Citizens $38, Tertiary Students $26, School Children $15, Group discount (20+) $36, Matinee $29 (31 July only)
Bookings: The Court Theatre, 20 Worcester Boulevard; 963 0870 or www.courttheatre.org.nz

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