Full-Length
Comedy-Drama
1W, 5M

Play

Funnyman


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Synopsis

New York City, 1959. Fading vaudeville comic Chick Sherman, along with his long-suffering agent, tries to revive his career with a role in an avant-garde off-Broadway play. While his grown daughter searches for answers from her absentee showbiz father, a lifetime of private and professional struggles rise to the surface, cracking the polished public persona of the world’s favorite former “funny man.”

Casting & Production


Casting

CHICK Sherman

DIRECTOR (OFF STAGE VOICE)*

Milt “JUNIOR” Karp

KATHARINE Sherman

NATHAN Wise

MATTHEW Baroni

VICTOR La Plant

*Any of the actors who play Nathan, Matthew or Victor can double as the voice of the Director.

 


Setting

Place
New York City

Time
1959


Reviews

“Highly Recommended. FUNNYMAN really is a shrewdly penned and highly involving affair that captures a moment of momentous change in art, even as it probes the universal truth that comedians rarely have funny lives.”
—Chicago Tribune

“Ultimately, that’s what makes FUNNYMAN soar: not the historical
references, not the clever invention of Chick’s career highlights (like his trademark “Wowza!”), not even the wise commentary about how comedy has changed post-World War II—but the personal growth of all Graham’s characters.”
—Broad Street Review