Laughter on the 23rd Floor

by Neil Simon

Set in 1953, Neil Simon's "flat-out funniest play in years" (Dennis Cunningham, CBS-TV) re-creates the mayhem, neuroses, nonstop gags, and constant one-upmanship of a team of brilliantly funny social misfits as they write The Max Prince Show, a weekly variety program. Among the crew are Milt, the insult artist; Ira, the hypochondriac whose dream is to have a virus named after him; and Val, a Russian emigre who takes a Berlitz course so he can curse without an accent. They are devoted to their boss, Max, a comic genius, a tyrant, and a paranoiac with a heart of gold. But his penchant for tippling and popping too many pills is growing under the pressures of a rising McCarthyism, network executives, and sponsors who want him to cut back his "too-smart" show and staff so that they can chase after the Leave It to Beaver and Father Knows Best audience.

Genres: Plays, Drama, Theatre, Humor, Comedy, Fiction

114 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Marvin Neil Simon was an American playwright and screenwriter. He wrote more than 30 plays and he received more combined Oscar and Tony nominations than any other writer. He was one of the most reliable hitmakers in Broadway history, as well as one of the most performed playwrights in the world. Though primarily a comic writer, some of his plays, particularly the Eugene Trilogy and The Sunshine Boys, reflect on the twentieth century Jewish-American experience.

Reviews

[erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm going to be playing Carol in a local production of this. I'm very excited!

[Art · Rating 5 out of 5]

Next Act Theater just closed its terrific production of this comedy. A very funny timepiece taking place in the writers’ room during Sid Caesar’s reign with Your Show of Shows, a live ninety-minute comedy variety show with no cue cards in the early fifties. Neil Simon, Mel Brooks, Cart Reiner and Sid Caesar stand out as the most famous writers there. The first production included a cast of JK Simmons and Nathan Lane, among others.

“Cheap laughs. I’m a wholesaler, quantity. … Bulk, volume, that’s my humor,” said the Mel Brooks character.

Although the story takes place in the early fifties, several comments seem timely today, including this diatribe by one of the characters: The Russians tap the phones. Politicians first, then they go after the arts. The writers first because they’re the intellectuals.

Funny show. Reading the play ahead of time gets me in the frame.

[Matthew Barker · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I liked best was really just the crazy things they did. They’d do things that I flat out did not expect to happen. Framing holes that they punched in the wall, throwing shoes out their window ON THE 23rd FLOOR, playing a saxophone and eating a corned beef sandwich at the same time. Just purely randomness that you don’t expect. That’s awesome. The only downside was the language. I don’t mind reading cuss words, but I don’t prefer it. The book would have been just as good if they got rid of half the cuss words. I will for sure read other works by Neil Simon. I’ve enjoyed his plays in the past and this play is no different. He has a unique style of humor and those cheesy one liners are perfectly timed. They play made me feel like maybe there is many different ways to look at the world. To an average person day to day life is boring. To these guys it’s extraordinary. They see everything from a funny point of view. They turn the long stroll to work as an Olympic sport. What I really took away from this book was the last scene. They all know that they are all out of a job and this will be the last time they’ll ever work together, but they still made the best of that night. They do the same crazy stuff they always did and took it to another notch of crazy. Even thou they knew it was all over, they never gave in to slacking. They finished their show strong and funny. The same way they started.

[Roya WhiteWearer]

یک نمایشنامه طنز تلخ در هجو رسانه و سلیقه مبتذلی که سبک زندگی قرن بیستم به جامعه عرضه می کند؛ گذر از سبک زندگی و رفتار فخیم، سنگین و بامعنای قدیم به زندگی آسان گیر جدید که نه تنها به مخاطبان برای تفکر فشاری وارد نمی آورد، بلکه حتی در مقابل هر عاملی که آنها را به تفکر برانگیزاند می ایستد. نقش اصلی را در این روند سطحی سازی البته رسانه بر عهده دارد؛ و رسانه نه مانند یک بخش فرهنگی، بلکه مانند سایر صنایع با فشار بر کارکنان خویش و محدود کردن آنها، هدف خود را عملی می سازد.

خواننده با جو ترسناک و تلخی روبرو می شود که در پس زمینه تولید هر برنامه تلویزیونی، حتی یک برنامه طنز، جریان دارد، و کارمندانی که درست مانند کارکنان سایر بخش های جامعه با مشکلات خانوادگی و با ترس بیکاری و بی پولی دست به گریبانند.
در نهایت، از خلال کنایه های سیاسی و کشمکش فرهنگ و اقتصاد در ذهن شخصیت ها و به خصوص شخصیت اصلی داستان، مکس، فرد خردمند در مقابل فرهنگ سطحی جامعه به زانو در می آید...
the story of how the cheap culture of society in middle 20 century will solve the sophisticated thinking and any sign of it, specially in media.
the reader will face the reality of actors' life, and how the problems of life make them give up their gret aims for money, as they are eventually persons, with all the problems a middle class person would have.

[Carolyn Page · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I liked most about this play was the similarity of this to the "work" scenes in the Dick Van Dyke Show. It really shows that Noel Simon knew his material. The patter, making jokes back and forth. Not all the jokes were that funny to me, but the only one that bugged me was the one at the end of the show. I didn't get it and it didn't seem a strong ending. The language was too strong for me to recommend it to family audiences but otherwise a decent play.

[Margaret Breidenbaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of Simon's best, in my opinion. If you don't get Jewish humor, don't bother, because you won't find anything to laugh about. Ba-dum bum. The brilliance of the script is Simon's perfect sense of timing, and his ability to seamlessly weave together wordplay and a compelling story with moving and riotous characters.

[Brian McCann · Rating 2 out of 5]

2018: Although Act I is strong with rapid Simon-quintessential dialogue, the play flattens in Act II. I saw the original production in the 90s, and remember it as mildly entertaining.

2025: Looks like I was generous in 2018. It reads as a compilation of old jokes that later had a play built around them. It’s second-rate Simon.

[Alborz Taheri · Rating 2 out of 5]

یک.
برایان: گفتن به محض موافقت با متن، قرارداد رو امضا می‌کنن.
لوکاس: هنوز باهاش موافقت نکردن؟
برایان: به محض این‌که بخوننش، موافقت می‌کنن.
لوکاس: هنوز نخوندنش؟!
برایان: به محض این‌که بنویسمش، می‌خوننش.

دو. نسبت به کارهای دیگر سایمون کم‌تر دوستش داشتم. شاید چون خیلی فضای کار آمریکایی بود و بهتر بود متن را به زبان اصلی می‌خوندم.

[EJ Paras · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I fell asleep the other night with my eyes open. I thought I was dreaming about a ceiling.”

This was my first Neil Simon play and gosh, this was so freakin' FUNNY. This was 114 pages, and pages 1-111 are frequently funny; even its beats of dramatic moments or tension are quickly disarmed with humor. But pages 111-114? Wow. That sentimentality and the shift took me for a whirl. I had a lump in my throat on the PATH train as I was finishing reading this. I told my technique teacher Ella that I had that reaction at the end, and she said, "typical Neil Simon." And she was happy that I took initiative and read this.

The last few times I went to my local library I checked out theater-related things; what kick-started it was going to the library for a book of men's monologues so that I could pick one to do for my scene study class. Then I went back for The Flick by Annie Baker, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee. When I went to return those, I was just browsing the shelves, without a particular author or title I was gravitating for purposely. The title + Neil Simon caught my eye. I read a brief blurb that it was about a tumultuous writers' room, and then I read Simon's little dedication and his shoutout to all the writers that helped him, which included Mel Brooks.

I thought, "yeah, this is enough of a hook." I figured it'd be witty, punny, and rhythmically sound. They also had the original cast written, and J.K. Simmons, Nathan Lane, and John Slattery together on stage, along with the rest of the cast, was probably electric. Circa 1995, so they were all relatively younger (for whatever reason I imagine they all look exactly the same). Helped me visualize their characters and then I used my imagination for the others.

“Thirty years from now he’ll be writing game shows and I’ll be VP of MGM screwing Lana Turner.”
“When she’s sixty-two? Why?”

The premise is a group of writers for a weekly variety show are meeting to write for the week's show and discuss why their boss (the manic genius that they write for, Max, who I imagined would've been played wonderfully by Nathan Lane) had a shotgun ready to shoot the night before. Each writer is introduced seamlessly and imbued with personality; each are so distinct that even without watching, I have a great sense of who each is. I can see them so clearly, and that's from the beautiful dialogue and characterization from Simon.

“It’s Ira. He’s running late at his analyst’s.”
“I thought his analyst died.”
“He met another one at the funeral.”

The play discusses the state of the world and how some of them can only cope with humor. In a time of corporate greed and slashing truly creative, profound works for simple programming that can be enjoyed by the masses (does this sound familiar?). While the era of this show is during McCarthyism, there were many parallels you could make for today. References are dated, but I thought they were all sweet. It's always a game for me to understand these references -- pop culture, history. You turn into quite a history buff with the more art you take in and process.

I hope to read some more Neil Simon soon! Not sure when this play kick will end, but it's been so enjoyable.

[Glenn Hopp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes you read a play and think that an ensemble of good actors could bring it to fuller life than it seems to have on the page. That’s part of the fun and challenge of reading a play—seeing all its possibilities. This play is a nostalgic look at Neil Simon’s days as a young writer for television. I was hoping it would be like the workplace scenes on The Dick Van Dyke Show since that show was based in part on Carl Reiner’s shared experiences with Simon. The play seems to have had long runs when it was first produced and in its revivals, so that’s why I say a good production probably works wonders. Reading it, though, seemed a bit of a letdown.

[Dan Blackley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This play is about the writer's room that Simon worked when he did Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows in the fifties. It is funny to see and reminds me of the Dick Van Dyke show.

[Kate O’Carroll · Rating 3 out of 5]

30 rock

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first act is very funny, but Simon doesn't know what to do with the second act.

[Nat Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know what the funniest room in human history was, but Sid Caesar's writers' room has to be a top five contender

[Bobpritch · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best comedy plays of all time. Neil Simon recounts his early career as a script writer for the famous Sid Caesar TV show, Your Show of Shows.

[Juliette II · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is fine. Dated.

Single set. Lots of costumes. Large, mostly male cast.

[Katie Gainey-West · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a funny play! Reminds me of what it must be like to be a writer on SNL.

[Liz Stanton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first time reading this, and I absolutely loved it!! The characters are hysterical. The comedy is perfect. Had me cracking up with every page

[Sapphire Detective · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neil Simon will always be one of my favorite playwrights. The Odd Couple has long been one of my famous plays, and I even got to act in Rumors back in high school. So, naturally, I knew I was going to love this, and I did. I don't see where many reviewers say this is one of his funniest--I definitely think there are funnier ones, see the two I listed above--but I feel this is one of his most heartful ones. While it's not looped in with his autobiographical trilogy (all with alliterative B titles), this as much lies in that category as they do. And I won't lie that I was getting a little misty-eyed at the end--but then again I've always been a sentimental sap. Either way, I won't say it's Simon's best play or even a personal favorite, but I think it's well worth the read. And who knows, maybe it's funnier performed than just reading it.

My rating: 4.25/5 (rounded down)
Would I own/re-read?: Yeah.
TW: Era-Accurate Language/Sexism
Does the animal die?: There's a brief mention of hunting dogs (as in dogs for hunting), but that's spun off into a different joke.

[Tom Varner · Rating 4 out of 5]

LAUGHTER ON THE 23RD FLOOR is another one of Neil Simon’s autobiographical plays. It’s loosely based on Simon’s early days as a television writer working with Sid Caesar on YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS. The play is narrated by Lucas, the youngest and newest writer of the staff of “The Max Prince Show.” The one-liners fly all over the place and the group of writers is a tight-knit bunch. However, there’s trouble brewing as the networks squabble with Max Prince to bring his award-winning and ratings smash show into a different (e.g. lower) caliber. The show has one of the greatest writing staffs in all of television and Max knows it, but the network doesn’t care. Meanwhile, each of the writers in the room has their own foibles and idiosyncrasies that hide larger issues happening in their life and as a backdrop, there’s the fear of McCarthyism that is spreading through the nation and even affects what happens in the writers’ room on the 23rd Floor. Although the narrative structure isn’t as sharp and fine-tuned as in earlier Simon memoir-ish plays, the characters are masterfully drawn, lovingly parodying the real-life people they are based upon. This is a show that is read and seen not so much for the plot, but for the characters and to see how those characters react when faced with the angst of staying alive in the early days of television. LAUGHTER ON THE 23RD FLOOR is a must read for anyone who likes Neil Simon, has an interest in television history, or who enjoys classic American comedies.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is pretty good Neil Simon, better than many of his more frequently performed plays, where I find the male/female relationships have become dated and awkward.

Here Simon draws from his own life story (he worked on The Phil Silvers Show and Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows among others), depicting the action in the writer's room at a successful television comedy show in the 1950s. The story comes first from the perspective of a young writer trying to earn a place and overawed by the funny eccentrics who populate the writing room and particularly the show's sometimes generous, sometimes abusive, sometimes just plain crazy, but always funny host Max Prince.

Simon captures the banter well because he knows it. The language is more than a little salty, far more so than any other Simon play that I've encountered, but it's an honest portrayal of how people would talk in this kind of setting and as such, I think it's necessary and motivated.

Although this would be very funny if performed by gifted comedians, I take one star off because the narrative arc--based on the decline and fall of the show--is a little weak. I would have liked to see it get a little deeper into some of these characters as well.

[Dan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kind of shticky and self indulgent. Kind of a let down. You hear so much about how famous the writer's room was on the Sid Caesar show:

Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Neil Simon.....

This play is supposedly about that time in Neil Simon's life. The jokes are basically borscht belt humor from like the 50s though.

I distinctly remember one passage where two characters argue about which name is funniest. Didn't really crack a smile once while reading it. Overall, kind of a let down.

[Tommy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny little play by Neil Simon that fictionalizes his days working for Sid Caesar on "Your Show of Shows." There's not that much to the plot, but the jokes are laugh-out-loud-reading-by-yourself funny, and the characters are endearing. I looked up the first production, and the Mel Tolkin stand-in, "Val," was played by Mark Linn-Baker, who played Benjy Stone in my first favorite movie, "My Favorite Year," which was Mel Brook's account of writing for Sid Caesar on "Your Show of Shows."

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Naturally, this is a play that we'll start public performances for at the end of this week. It's very funny, but needs about a dozen "huh?" lines edited from it. But who am I to edit Neil freaking Simon!?

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I personally did not think that this play was amazingly funny but it was a good read. I love the characters in this play and they teach that nothing lasts forever in life. Review to come on http://suitmyfancy.wordpress.com

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

The funniest thing i have read to date. I cried with laughter on the bus while reading this, much to the annoyance of the people sitting next to - and eventually moving away from - me on the bus).

An absolute masterpiece of comedy.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three-and-a-half. I think I'm more interested in the back-story of this play (the legendary writer's room of Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows) more than the story-story of this play. Still, very enjoyable, and Nathan Lane as the pill-out and boozed-up Max must have been tremendously funny.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gotta love Neil Simon.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the play I was in. I played the roll of Lucas Brickman.

[Isaac Timm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I well paced comedy, that sets a time and place well. Simon is not over the top or reaching for laughs, just quick, witty dialogue what creates a rich nostalgia for the golden era of television.