About the Play:

Enter Laughing has long been a favourite of acting teachers for Female/Male Scenes and Male/Male Scenes.

Enter Laughing is a full-length comedy by Joseph Stein, adapted from the novel by Carl Reiner. Set in the Bronx during the Depression, Enter Laughing chronicles the over-protective parents, the two too many girlfriends, and paycheck commensurate with his acting talent, of young actor wannabe David Kolowitz who grew up to become comedy legend Carl Reiner. This Broadway hit has non-stop laughs for audiences of all ages.

Enter Laughing is based on the semi-autobiographical novel by iconic writer-comedian Carl Reiner about a young man determined to break into show business. The riotous account of stage-struck young David Kolowitz, originated on Broadway by a rising new actor named Alan Arkin as Reiner surrogate Kolowitz, working as a delivery boy in a sewing machine factory. Denying his parent's wishes for a druggist in the family, he leaves their dreams and his devoted girlfriend Wanda behind and is soon enlisted (and paying for) a slot as the "leading man" in a third-rate theatrical company while being vamped by the resident less-than leading lady, the daughter of the hammy "artistic director." His baptism of fire is a hilarious first performance where everything that can go wrong, does.

Enter Laughing premiered in 1963 on Broadway Henry Miller's Theatre and ran for a year. The play has become a favourite scene study vehicle in acting classes and workshops and is regularly performed in regional, college, and community theatre productions.

Cast: 4 female, 7 male

What people say:

"Joyously funny." — New York Daily News

"Marvelously funny ... Doesn't provide enough rest periods between side splitting laughs." — New York Times

About the Playwright:

Joseph Stein (1912-2010) was an American playwright best known for writing the books for such musicals as Fiddler on the Roof and Zorba. Born to Jewish immigrants, he grew up in the Bronx. He began his career as a psychiatric social worker, while writing comedy on the side. A chance encounter with Zero Mostel led him to writing for radio personalities, including Hildegarde and Jackie Gleason. He later worked in TV when he joined the writing team of Your Show of Shows, which included Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner. He was honoured with the Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theater, and in 2008 was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame.