This later Neil Simon effort draws upon the playwright’s experience as a contributor to the history-making 1950s TV show Your Show of Shows, which starred Sid Caesar. Sharing office space with the likes of creative funnymen Carl Reiner, Larry Gelbart and Mel Brooks, Simon honed his comic skills, setting the stage for his later success as prolific craftsman of many a Broadway-bound comedy. Laughter on the 23rd Floor originally enjoyed a nine-month New York run in 1993-94, then was revived as a television movie in 2001, both projects featuring Nathan Lane. Light on plot and — no surprise — heavy on the one-liners, the script manages to offer some insight into McCarthyism and censorship issues. ACT 1’s new production is directed by Lane Wright, an effective interpreter of wide-ranging material, from witty Alan Ayckbourn farces to the tense drama of Angels in America. As it should, Wright’s cast of nine features solid character actors — including Douglas Goodman, Chaz Howard and Aaron Roston. MARTIN BRADY
