{{Short description|1963 play by Joseph Stein}} {{italic title}} {{for|the film|Enter Laughing (film)}} '''''Enter Laughing''''' is a 1963 play by Joseph Stein.
thumb|Alan Arkin as David Kolowitz
A farce in two acts, it is based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Carl Reiner. The action centers on the journey of young aspiring actor David Kolowitz as he tries to extricate himself from overly protective parents (who want him to be a married pharmacist) and two too many girlfriends, while struggling to meet the challenge of his lack of talent in 1930s New York City.
The Broadway production opened on March 13, 1963, and ran for over a year. It marked the Broadway directorial debut of Gene Saks.<ref name=Hischak2009/> The cast included Alan Arkin, Vivian Blaine, Sylvia Sidney, Michael J. Pollard, and Alan Mowbray. Arkin won a Tony for his performance.
==Original cast== In order of appearance:<ref name=Stein1984/> {{Div col}} *Irving Jacobson as Mr. Foreman *Alan Arkin as David Kolowitz *Michael J. Pollard as Marvin *Meg Myles as Miss B. *Charles Randall as Pike *Pierre Epstein as Don Baxter *Walt Wanderman as Don Darwin *Alan Mowbray as Marlowe *Vivian Blaine as Angela *Sylvia Sidney as Mother *Marty Greene as Father *Barbara Dana as Wanda *Shimen Ruskin as Waiter *Monroe Arnold as Roger *Tom Gorman as Lawyer {{Div col end}}
==Reception== ''Enter Laughing'' opened March 13, 1963 at Henry Miller's Theatre and ran through March 14, 1964, for 419 performances. It was well received by critics and audiences.<ref name=Hischak2009/> Howard Taubman wrote in the ''New York Times'' review that "the major complaint ... is that it doesn't provide enough rest periods between side-splitting laughs" and called Arkin's performance "a choice specimen of a shrewd actor ribbing his profession".<ref name=TaubmanRvw/> In ''The Nation'', Harold Clurman called it an example of how the "deterioration of the Broadway theatre may be discerned in the fact that inconsequential scripts are frequently done more competently than serious ones"; Clurman, too, singled out Arkin for praise.<ref name=Clurman/>
Arkin won both the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play<ref name=Franks2004/> and the Theatre World Award for his performance.<ref name=TheatreWorld/>
==Adaptations== Reiner co-wrote the screenplay with Stein for the 1967 film version, directed by Reiner and starring Reni Santoni as David, José Ferrer as Marlowe, Shelley Winters as Mrs. Kolowitz, and Elaine May as Angela.
The play served as the basis for the ill-fated 1976 musical ''So Long, 174th Street''.
''Enter Laughing'' was revived Off-Broadway as a musical in 2008 by The York Theatre Company. With music and lyrics by Stan Daniels, the production starred Josh Grisetti for a limited run. The ''New York Times'' praised the revival as "hilarious"<ref name=Genzlingrvw/> and ''Variety'' reviewer Steven Suskin wrote that "portions bordered on the hysterical".<ref name=Varietyrvw/> Like Arkin in 1963, Grisetti won the 2009 Theatre World Award for his performance.<ref name=TheatreWorld/>
''Enter Laughing: The Musical'' was revived again Off-Broadway by The York Theatre Company in 2019; running from May 7, 2019, to June 23, 2019. The 2019 revival featured: Raji Ahsan, Farah Alvin, Dana Costello, Ray DeMattis, Chris Dwan, Alison Fraser, Magnes Jarmo, Michael Kostroff, Paul Kreppel, Robert Picardo, Nathan Salstone, David Schramm, Allie Trimm and Joe Veale.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://yorktheatre.org/on-stage/mainstage-series/enter-laughing|title=Enter Laughing: The Musical|website=yorktheatrecompany|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-22}}</ref>
==References== <references>
<ref name=Stein1984>{{cite book |author=Joseph Stein |title=Enter Laughing: A Comedy in Two Acts |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mgV0CahcOwoC |year=1984 |publisher=S. French |isbn=978-0-573-60864-3}}</ref> <ref name=Hischak2009>{{cite book |author=Thomas S. Hischak |title=Broadway Plays and Musicals: Descriptions and Essential Facts of More Than 14,000 Shows through 2007 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GzeiySJZXF4C&pg=PA555 |year=2009 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-5309-2 |page=555}}</ref> <ref name=TaubmanRvw>{{cite news |author=Howard Taubman |title=The Theater: 'Enter Laughing' |newspaper=New York Times |date=March 15, 1963 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/theater/Enter.pdf |accessdate=2015-03-12}}</ref> <ref name=Clurman>{{cite book |author=Harold Clurman |title=The Collected Works of Harold Clurman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=13VkniFjsgUC&pg=PA515 |year=1999 |publisher=Hal Leonard |isbn=978-1-55783-264-1 |page=515}}</ref> <ref name=Franks2004>{{cite book |author=Don Franks |title=Entertainment Awards: A Music, Cinema, Theatre and Broadcasting Guide, 1928 through 2003 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TCUTBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA130 |edition=3d |year=2004 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-1798-8 |page=130}}</ref> <ref name=Genzlingrvw>{{cite news |author=Neil Genzlinger |title=An Innocent in Love and Show Business |department=Theater |newspaper=New York Times |date=September 16, 2008 |url=http://theater2.nytimes.com/2008/09/16/theater/reviews/16laug.html |accessdate=2015-03-12}}</ref> <ref name=Varietyrvw>{{cite journal |author=Steven Suskin |authorlink=Steven Suskin |title=Review: Enter Laughing |journal=Variety |date=September 10, 2008 |url=https://variety.com/2008/legit/reviews/enter-laughing-1200470735/ |accessdate=2015-03-12}}</ref> <ref name=TheatreWorld>{{cite web |title=Theatre World Award Recipients |website=Theatre World Awards |url=http://www.theatreworldawards.org/past-recipients.html |accessdate=2015-03-12 |archive-date=2015-10-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004022514/http://www.theatreworldawards.org/past-recipients.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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==External links== *{{IBDB show|3350}} *{{iobdb show|Enter Laughing}} *{{IMDb title|qid=Q5380167|title=Enter Laughing (1967)}}
{{Joseph Stein}} {{Carl Reiner}}
{{Authority control}}
Enter Laughing Enter Laughing Category:Autobiographical plays Category:American plays adapted into films Category:Plays set in New York City Category:Fiction set in the 1930s Category:Biographical plays about actors Category:Plays based on novels