One of the many great lines from BRIGHTON BEACH.
I had the good fortune to see every one of his plays and musicals during their original runs on Broadway (except STAR-SPANGLED GIRL). I think you had to live through the time to appreciate the excitement, the long ticket-buying lines, engendered by his biggest early hits, like BAREFOOT, PLAZA SUITE, and ODD COUPLE. This was before online ticket sales. These were the so-called blockbusters....with hundreds of people lining up early on morning after the reviews came out hoping to buy a pair of tickets at the box office. A new Neil Simon play was always greeted with enthusiasm, even the later works which had shorter runs.
My first standing room experience was at the Plymouth, for ODD COUPLE.
I once sat next to Marsha Mason on a flight to LA... this was after her breakup with Neil. She spent virtually the entire 6 hour flight writing a letter to him. We chatted briefly.
One of my favorite Neil Simon film's is the section of CALIFORNIA SUITE featuring Maggie Smith as an Oscar nominee. Also, Jane Fonda in BAREFOOT. |
