TBTB’s I Ought to Be in Pictures Zings Out One Liners Solidly | Times Square Chronicles (2024)

When you think of snappy one-liners or biting comebacks, there is one playwright that comes to mind. That is the one and only Neil Simon who has a writing credit of almost 50 plays. Probably his most well-known isThe Odd Couple.It was revived recently on Broadway with an all-star cast. Now one of Simon’s plays that has not been seen on or off Broadway since the early eighties is back. I Ought to Be in Pictures,produced by Theater Breaking Through Barriers, is playing at Theater Row on 42nd Street starring Makenzie Morgan Gomez (Off-Broadway Debut) as Libby, Pamela Sabaugh (Off-Broadway’sRichard III) as Steffy and Chris Thorn (Off-Broadway’sPride and Prejudice) as Herb.

The play begins as aspiring actress Libby shows up at screenwriter Herb’s door and announces that she is his daughter whom he abandoned 16 years ago and she wants him to help her get into “pictures.” Hair/make-up artist Steffy is Herb’s one-night-a-week girlfriend for the past two years.

Thorn seems to embody Herb, the talented and once successful writer, mired in the lonely world of self-doubt who can’t trust his craft, his ideas, or his ability to keep pushing in the competitive “younger” world of the entertainment business. His anger has turned to resignation as his confidence has faded. Thorn can join in the quick and cutting war of words in the Simon script and still carry that heavy weight of failure that’s dragging him down. As Libby, Gomez is like a haboob that has swirled into Herb’s life. Her rapid-fire delivery gives the daughter the edge keeping anyone from reeling her in or rearranging her plan.

Gomez plays Libby a bit young for someone who has crossed the country traveling with a bus ticket and the rest with her thumb (think the 1970s) to get into the “pictures”, an industry she knows nothing about. But Gomez is up to the task. Her monologues are spot on even though she can get a bit high-pitched in the excitement and her scenes with Herb ring true. Pamela Sabaugh’s Steffy is right on point. You can see her affection for both Libby and Herb and you can feel her desire to see her relationship with Herb grow. Having Libby meet Herb’s “girlfriend on Tuesdays” at the door gives Steffy some added weight in the plot and Sabaugh takes it in and runs with it.

Directed by Nicholas Vitelli (TBTB’sGod of Carnage)I Ought to Be in Pictureshas a real feel for its characters and their environment, moving them around the drab living space of the dad’s small West Hollywood apartment in the late 1970s. Scenic and lighting designer Bert Scott (TBTB’sBrecht on Brecht) gives the tired apartment touches that show how Herb sees himself, tumbling on the way down; old appliances, and smudges around cabinet pulls and light switches emphasize the decline.

Theater Breaking Through Barriers (TBTB) production ofI Ought to Be in Picturesis a funny and touching comedy, hitting all the right notes with a cast that fits together seamlessly. What we have here is vintage Neil Simon giving us his classic verbal sparing that has the audience continually holding their breath waiting for the next one to zing in. TBTB is “dedicated to advancing and celebrating the work of professional artists with disabilities.” The performance included an audio description of the set and characters before the performance began and script text during the play.

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Our guests this week are Tony and Olivier Award winning Broadway actor and producer Jana Robbins and book, music and lyric writer Tim Tuttle. Join us Wednesday May 8th at 5pm.

Jana Robbins is thrilled to be back on stage with A Final Toast. As an actor she has appeared in leading roles on Broadway in Good News, I Love My Wife, Crimes of the Heart, Gypsy – covering Tyne Daly as Mama Rose while playing the “bump it with a trumpet” stripper Mazzeppa – and The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife– where she covered both Linda Lavin and Michele Lee and starred opposite Valerie Harper in the National Tour. Jana has played leading roles across the country in National Tours, as well as many of our well know theaters and repertory companies, including Seattle Rep, The Alliance Theater, Cinncinati Playhouse in the Park, Papermill Playhouse and many more. On TV she has appeared in Cheers, Babylon 5, The Good Wife, Law And Order, SVU, Nurse Jackieand more. Her favorite film credit was working with Annette Benning and Meg Ryan in The Women. Jana’s Broadway and West End producing credits include Little Women, Ragtime, Company on Broadway and in the West End, (Tony and Olivier Award) and most recently The Shark Is Broken. Off-Broadway, Ms. Robbins was also the lead producer of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish directed by Joel Grey (Drama Desk Award). As Pinnacle Productions, with producer Haley Swindal, she recently produced Rose at The Ambassadors Theatre (West End), as well as Death Note – The Musical at London’s Palladium and The Lyric Theater. Just last month, they produced Your Lie In April at The Royal Drury Lane in the West End which transfers to the Harold Pinter Theater in the West End in June. They also have a Broadway musical revival coming up, to be announced soon. Jana is a proud recipient of The Jewish National Fund’s “Tree of Life” Award. www.janarobbinsproductions.com

Her performance is dedicated to the memory of her beloved mother Edythe Elaine Eisenberg May 16, 1922 – Oct. 24, 2022

Tim Tuttlewrote the book, music and lyrics for 44 Lights: The Musical openingWednesday night.Tuttle spent a decade working as a trader on Wall Street, he moved to the world of commodities at the World Trade Center in the mid 90’s. On September 11th, 2001, everything changed. He got away safely that morning from Ground Zero, but he was forever altered by what he witnessed. The evening of 9/11,he wrote his first song. A song that would attempt to express the pain and loss he was suffering in the aftermath of the most tragic day in modern American history. He sang it to his wife Barbie in the darkness of their apartment. He kept writing as the list of friends and neighbors he knew had not returned home. He turned to music to heal. On the first anniversary of September 11^th, he perform a memorial concert called “Music from Ground Zero”. 44 LIGHTS is a chance for Tim to tell his story, to remember the many who didn’t come home, and find a way to keep their memories alive forever.

44 Lights: The Musical, will begin Wednesday, May 15, 2024 at 7pm, for a limited engagement through Saturday, May 25, 2024 at AMT Theater (354 West 45^th Street – between 8^th & 9^th Aves). Visit 44Lights.com for more information.

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Perhaps the key is remembering past laughter since the present is debilitating….Man

In Just Another Day, a new play written and starringDan Lauria, a couple meets everyday, just to remember how they know each other. His better half is Patty McCormack.Lauriaand McCormack have over 100 years of live theatrical experience, and over 150 credits in TV shows and films and it shows in the banter, the comedic timing and in the warmth of their exchanges underneath thecaustic wit. In a not so distant past the man, was a comic, a painter and part of a comedy writing team, the woman a poet, comedy writer and a singer. It is chemistry that draws them together, their love of old films that binds and the obvious biting exchanges that have kept them together.

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Eric Krebs direction make a perfect commentary on aging, memory and what the human spirit is willing to go through to remember those we love. We do however want to know why every time they touch a bell rings or clangs. We completely understand why it is frustrating the hell out of this couple. Is touch the factor that keeps everything in place?

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The simple heart tells of what is

The strong heart tells of what matters

The pure heart tells of one true love.

The wise heart tells of learning to love again.

In essence that is what this play says in spades.

Just Another Day:Theater555 (555 West 42^nd Street @11^th Avenue), through June 30th.

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Stillhas a lot to say, unfortunately the play does not speak in the language of love.

Still:DR2 Theatre, 103 West 15th Street until May 18th.

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Nominations for the 13th Annual Off Broadway Alliance Awards, honoring commercial and not-for-profit productions that opened Off-Broadway during the 2023-2024 season, were announced today. In addition to the six competitive categories (Best New Musical, Best New Play, Best Revival, Best Unique Theatrical Experience, Best Solo Performance, and Best Family Show), the OBA – an organization of Off-Broadway producers, theaters, general managers, press agents, and marketing professionals – has announced its honorees for three special awards.

Legend of Off-Broadway Awards will be presented to actors Marylouise Burke and Len Cariou, and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks for their extraordinary contributions over many years. Playwright/performer Christopher Durang, writer Michael Feingold, and producer Edgar Lansbury will be posthumously inducted into the Off-Broadway Hall of Fame, and The Friend of Off-Broadway Award will be presented to Adam Feldman, National Theater and Dance Editor and Chief Theater Critic at Time Out New York.

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