About the Play:

Only Kidding! is a full-length dramatic comedy by Jim Geoghan. In this critically-aclaimed Off-Broadway hit, a seasoned comedian struggles to stay relevant in the ever-changing world of showbiz.

Only Kidding! is about the world of stand-up comedy. An over the hill comic, who is desperate for a shot on a top-rated, late-night TV show, has invited a hip young writer to his cottage in the Catskills to help him update his act. They might as well be talking in tongues about what is funny! The action moves to a sleazy night-club in Brooklyn as a comic duo tries to negotiate a deal with a Mafia connected owner who wants aspiring comics to sign a contract giving him a commission on their future earnings. Then the play goes to comedy heaven: backstage at that nationally televised late night TV talk show – where the comics await their first big shot, and for the older comedian his last chance at the big time.

Only Kidding! premiered in 1988 at the American Jewish Theatre in New York City and ran off-Broadway for 500 performances. It received a Drama Desk nomination for outstanding new play and has been performed in regional repertory, college, and community theatre productions.

Cast: 5 male

What people say:

"It's a comedy, often fall-down-and-drop-dead hilarious, about standup comedians, and you don't have to read the program notes to figure out that Jim Geoghan, its author, is himself a former standup comedian who knows whereof he speaks ... Geoghan has been where he puts his characters, and he packs his cliches with detailed, vivid truth. He knows the pain the anxious men he writes about have gone through, and he knows the toilet clubs, Borscht Belt resorts and TV talk shows they have played. More importantly, he gives his actors punch lines directly out of the top drawer, and he gives his audience a terrific final payoff." — Chicago Tribune

"[This] acidly funny dissection of the stand up comedy jungle...crackles with authenticity." — New York Times

"A dazzling comedy. Fresh, clever and above all, funny." — The New York Post

"Might make you laugh so hard you won't appreciate what fine writing it is." — New York Daily News

"To be wise about being funny and still be funny is a rare accomplishment indeed." — New York Newsday

About the Playwright:

Jim Geoghan is an award-winning American playwright and prolific TV sitcom writer. He spent nine years performing stand-up comedy before he hung up his microphone forever and turned his attention to writing full-time for such popular series as Silver Spoons, Punky Brewster, Three's Company, The Facts of Life, Kate and Allie, Too Close For Comfort, and Family Matters, among others. He was also executive producer of The Disney Channel's The Suite Life on Deck and the original The Suite Life of Zack And Cody.