Funny Play, Funny Production

Neil Simon knows comedy. He wrote “Barefoot in the Park,” “The Odd Couple,” “Plaza Suite,” “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” “Biloxi Blues,” “The Goodbye Girl,” and more than two dozen other plays. He wrote for Sid Caesar’s legendary TV series, “Your Show of Shows,” alongside Carl Reiner, Larry Gelbart, Mel Brooks and Woody Allen. His friends call him “Doc” — a reference to his second career as a script doctor, hired to anonymously punch up other people’s work.

In “The Sunshine Boys,” Simon wrote about two characters who know comedy as well as he does, retired vaudeville superstars Al Lewis and Willie Clark. Billed as “Lewis & Clark” and/or “The Sunshine Boys,” they headlined together for 43 years, but the breakup created such ill will that they haven’t spoken in 11 years.

Now, CBS wants them to do one of their classic routines in a live special about comedy through the ages. Can they work together again? Can they even be in the same room together again?

It would be hard to mess up a play as funny as this one, and the Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck does it justice. This is a show well worth seeing.

Joe Felece and Johnny Dell are completely convincing as Lewis and Clark. Felece may be a bit too low-key for such a comedy, but Dell owns the show as Willie Clark. He’s blessed with a full voice and large personality that fills the theater. Most importantly, he and Felece are funny.

Kudos is due to Alina Gonzalez as Willie’s agent and niece, a part written for a man. She attacks the role with energy, bravura and an absolutely pitch-perfect New York Jewish accent.

Director Tracy Carney could have done better by her actors. Too often someone walks 10 feet away from someone else and then turns to address them. Most importantly, the ending feels more like a temporary respite than a resolution.

Ultimately, though, none of that matters. Simon wrote a funny play, and the Center puts up a funny production. If you see it, you will laugh. What more can you ask for?

“The Sunshine Boys” runs at the Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck, NY, through Nov. 23. For tickets: 845-876-3080. 

And Simon Says . . .   

“Words with a K in it are funny. I’ll tell you which words always get a laugh. Alka-Seltzer is funny. Chicken is funny. Pickle is funny. All with a K. Ls are not funny, Ms are not funny. Cupcake is funny, tomato is not funny. Roast beef is not funny. But cookie is funny. Cucumber is funny. Car keys is funny. Cleveland is funny. Maryland is not funny.”