The Group Rep presents Neil Simon’s “LONDON SUITE” September 17 through October 24,their first indoor main stage production since Covid.

“LONDON SUITE” by Neil Simon will be the first show produced by the Group Rep open to the public on the indoor Main Stage of the Lonny Chapman Theatre since the California Covid Lockdown. The last indoor performance at the theatre was March 15, 2020, the last scheduled performance of Doug Haverty’s “In My Mind’s Eye.”

Humor and humanity abound in this full-out farce and tender comedy Neil Simon’s “LONDON SUITE” the third installation of Mr. Simon’s ‘Suite” trilogy (“PLAZA SUITE,” “CALIFORNIA SUITE” and “LONDON SUITE”). Like an exquisite four-course dinner, we are treated to four wildly different stories that all take place in the same luxury London hotel room.

The stories that play out in “LONDON SUITE” are “Settling Accounts,” which involves a once-successful writer who while intoxicated holds a gun on his longtime accountant whom he suspects has stolen his entire fortune; a widowed mother and her daughter are at the end of their London trip and are “Going Home,” when – at the daughter’s insistence – the mother spends her last evening in town with an unmarried rich man who on the plus side has a Ferrari and hard-to-get tickets to a popular Mamet play, but is plagued with numerous allergies among other ailments; in “Diana and Sidney” a star actress known for her long-running American TV series and her now homosexual former husband meet after many years apart and agree to a new financial arrangement; “The Man on the Floor” is about an American couple from Los Angeles, the disappearance of their Wimbledon tickets, a celebrity’s request for their suite and the injuries both physical and mental) that ensue.

Matthew Broderick on explaining why he and his wife, Sarah Jessica Parker, recently decided to go back to Broadway in a revival of “Plaza Suite” said, “We all need a little Neil Simon now.”

ALL patrons must be VACCINATED with proof of full vaccination required upon entry. Entire cast and crew have been fully vaccinated.

Cast

Featuring the talents of Bita Arefnia, Joelle Arqueros, Raquel Brooks, Barbara Brownell, Paul Cady, Fox Carney, Doug Haverty, Christian Land, Diane Linder, Sherry Michaels, Susan Priver, Beccy Quinn, Michael Robb, Michele Schultz, Neil Thompson, Sal Valletta, Sascha Vanderslik, Chris Winfield and Janet Wood.

Production/Creative Team

Director Doug Engalla, Producer Alyson York, Stage Manager John Ledley, Assistant Director Bita Arefnia, Original Music by Marc Antonio Pritchett, Set Design by Haverty/Emmett, Lighting Design by Douglas Gabrielle, Costume Design by Angela M. Eads, Sound Design by Steve Shaw, Props by Joseph Marcelo, Promotional Video & Photography by Doug Engalla, and Online Marketing by Kristin Stancato.

About the Playwright

Neil Simon (born Marvin Neil Simon on the 4th of July 1927 in the Bronx, New York) began his writing career in television and established himself as our leading writer of comedy by creating a succession of Broadway hits, beginning with “Come Blow Your Horn.” During the 1966-67 season, “Barefoot in the Park,” “The Odd Couple,” “Sweet Charity,” and “The Star Spangled Girl” were all running simultaneously. In the 1970-71 season, Broadway theatergoers had their choice of “Plaza Suite,” “Last of the Red Hot Lovers,” and “Promises, Promises.” Next came “Little Me,” “The Gingerbread Lady,” “The Prisoner of Second Avenue,” “The Sunshine Boys,” “The Good Doctor,” “God’s Favorite,” “They’re Playing Our Song,” “I Ought to Be in Pictures,” “Fools,” a revival of “Little Me,” “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” “Biloxi Blue”s (winning a Tony Award), a new version of “The Odd Couple” starring Sally Struthers and Rita Moreno as the title duo, “Broadway Bound,” “Rumors,” “Lost in Yonkers”(winning the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize), “Jake’s Women,” and, of course, “London Suite.”

Mr. Simon has also written for the screen: the adaptations of “Barefoot in the Park,” “The Odd Couple,” “Plaza Suite,”” Last of the Red Hot Lovers,” “The Prisoner of Second Avenue,” “The Sunshine Boys,” “California Suite,” “I Ought To Be In Pictures,” “Chapter Two,” “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” “Biloxi Blues,” and the TV motion pictures of “Broadway Bound,” “Lost in Yonkers,” and “London Suite.” Other screenplays he has written include “After the Fox,” “The Out-of-Towners,” “The Heartbreak Kid,” “Murder By Death,” “The Goodbye Girl,” “The Cheap Detective,” “Seems Like Old Times,” “Only When I Laugh,” “Max Dugan Returns,” and “The Marrying Man.”

After a writing career that spanned more than five decades, Neil Simon passed away on the 28th of August 2018, at the age of 91.

About the Production Team

Doug Engalla (Director) joined The Group Rep in 1997; and has directed projects outside of the Company. London Suite is his ninth full production as Director at The Group Rep. Other directorial projects here included the 2019 “A Twisted Christmas Carol,” Neil Simon’s “Rumors,” and four World Premieres in Phil Olson’s “Don’t Hug Me” musical comedy series. In 2020, he was photographer and editor for some of the Theatre’s virtual productions, including “Tuesdays with Morrie.”

Alyson York (Producer): Alyson York is a producer, director and actress. She has worked with Doug Engalla as producer on several productions and is excited to work with Doug again on “London Suite.” She recently was invited to be on the TRU producer panel (July 2021) coaching writers on how to effectively pitch their project. Alyson has worked with the great Tony Tanner, Louis Fantasia, Richard Digby Day and Jay Goldenberg.

Bita Arefnia (Assistant Director) is a Persian actress from Austria. She recently graduated from the New York Film Academy earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting for Film. NYFA productions she has been seen in include “The War at Troy,” “Dead Man’s Cellphone” and “A Cellphone Symphony”. Group Rep productions include “The Man Who Came to Dinner” and “A Twisted Christmas Carol.” She was also involved in the latest production of “Bogeyman Within” at Z.J.U.