Regarding Simon's plays and assuming we are including his musicals, I think it depends on the show, the cast, and the direction. For example, Henry Winkler and John Ritter in The Dinner Party, Martin Short in Little Me, Nathan Lane in The Odd Couple, and Sean Hayes and Molly Shannon in Promises, Promises nailed every single laugh in their respective shows. I laughed out loud a lot at all those shows. Just remembering Sean Hayes trying to sit down on Tony Goldwyn's goofy office chair makes me laugh pretty hard right now. That said, I don't think you could successfully revive any of Simon's shows on Broadway today without Nathan Lane in his some of his plays or Hugh Jackman in a couple of his musicals, unless you can find actors who are just as funny or as big a draw.
I've recently seen productions of both Brighton Beach Memoirs and Lost in Yonkers in Chicago that made me laugh out loud a lot, primarily because the actors playing the kids in the shows were so funny. |
