Theatre Productions
The Sunshine Boys premiered on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre on December 18, 1972, and transferred to the Shubert Theatre and then the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, closing on April 21, 1974 after 538 performances and two previews. Produced by Emanuel Azenberg and directed by Alan Arkin, the original cast featured Sam Levene as Lewis, Jack Albertson as Clark, and Lewis J. Stadlen as Ben. Replacements later in the run included Lou Jacobi as Lewis and Jack Gilford as Clark.
Tony Award nominations went to Simon (Best Play), Albertson (Best Actor in a Play) and Arkin (Best Direction of a Play), and Albertson won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance.
The play was revived on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre, opening on December 8, 1997 and closing on June 28, 1998 after 230 performances and 12 previews. Directed by John Tillinger, the cast starred Jack Klugman as Willie Clark and Tony Randall as Al Lewis.
A West End production of the play, starring Danny DeVito (in his West End debut)) and Richard Griffiths, will preview at the Savoy Theatre from 27 April 2012, opening on 17 May and playing a limited 12-week season until 28 July. The Blog A Cultured Lad spoke very highly of the production and gave it a full five star rating saying that "Productions like this don’t come often. This show glitters, like fireworks on the fourth of July. Absolutely wonderful." Theatre critic Charles Spencer also gave the show a positive review, with a four star rating and said that "Thea Sharrock directs a pitch-perfect production that beautifully captures fleeting moments of tenderness in the comedy without ever turning mushy."
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Famous quotes containing the words theatre and/or productions:
“Mankind’s common instinct for reality ... has always held the world to be essentially a theatre for heroism. In heroism, we feel, life’s supreme mystery is hidden. We tolerate no one who has no capacity whatever for it in any direction. On the other hand, no matter what a man’s frailties otherwise may be, if he be willing to risk death, and still more if he suffer it heroically, in the service he has chosen, the fact consecrates him forever.”
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