I was laughing my head off tonight at the Racine Theater Guild, watching their new production of Neil Simon’s “The Sunshine Boys” – but this hilarious comedy was enshrouded with much more than its fair share of drama as well.
First a word about the plot, which is about Willie and Al- two vaudeville comedians who broke up after more than 40 years working together- and who have not spoken with one another in over a decade. They have been invited to participate in a star-studded television special devoted to the history of comedy, but it’s a reunion that does not go well.
Speaking of not going well . . . The production’s first sign of trouble happened when the actor originally cast as Willie had to drop out just a couple of weeks before opening night. Riding to the rescue was a talented guy named Jerry Rannow, a Racine native who made a name for himself in Hollywood back in the 1960’s and 70’s as both a writer and actor in such shows as The Beverly Hillbillies, Love, American Style, Welcome Back Kotter, All in the Family, and more. Now living back in Racine, he occasionally graces the stage of the RTG and was excited to step into “The Sunshine Boys” opposite his friend George Mangold (playing Al.) There was no time for him to memorize such a long and demanding role, so he went on holding the script- but from all accounts, he did so in such a way that the audience was scarcely aware of it – and he and his castmates delivered a superb performance and brought the house down.
And then on Monday (the day after the first weekend of performances had concluded) George Mangold’s phone rang- and it was Jerry calling to report that he had just been to the eye doctor and been told that his worsening eyesight was due to a detached retina- requiring immediate surgery- and suddenly the production was once again without a Willie- five days before the next weekend performances were to begin.
At that point, there was only one possible option: the role of Willie was taken over by the director of the production, Norm McPhee. It meant that in a matter just four days, Norm had to yield his director’s chair and immerse himself in this huge role. As the director, he of course knew all of the stage business- but he still had to place himself in the action which is very different from sitting out in the house and making things happen. But Norm was more than willing to take on such an intimidating challenge- and in fact probably relished the opportunity of acting opposite his good friend George, whom he has directed in countless productions over the years.
So tonight, as Kathy and I sat in the audience, we honestly felt like we were witnessing history – not only that the RTG was undertaking this play for the first time in 32 years, but also seeing the first RTG production in which three different people ended up being cast in the same role. (There had been occasions when an actor had to be replaced- but never ever a case of the replacement having to be replaced as well.) And in all of Doug Instenes’s years at the RTG, he could not remember a single case where an actor was sent out on that stage holding a script. But Norm did an amazing job of making that script seem like part of the action – and it didn’t take long before all of us in the audience were able to completely ignore the script and simply focus on Neil Simon’s superb and entertaining dialogue. And by the end of the night, I think I had laughed harder than I ever have at a live theatrical performance. But beyond the laughter, I was also filled with profound appreciation for how this cast has managed to hang together through all the turbulence. . . and really, except for the small matter of Norm carrying a script, one would never have guessed that there had ever been anything amiss with this production.
Go see this if you can and you’ll know what I’m talking about!
pictured above: I snapped this photo during the curtain call. That’s Norm McPhee and George Mangold. More info is available at racinetheater.org or by calling 633-1250.