Editing The Sunshine Boys (section)

==Theatre productions==
[[File:The Sunshine Boys at The Doon School.jpg|thumb|An international production at [[The Doon School]], India.]]
Produced by [[Emanuel Azenberg]] and directed by [[Alan Arkin]], the original 1972 Broadway cast starred [[Sam Levene]] as Al Lewis and [[Jack Albertson]] as Willie Clark, the [[vaudevillian]] comedy duo known as the Sunshine Boys; the play co-starred [[Lewis J. Stadlen]] as Ben, Willie Clark's nephew.<ref name="IBDB">{{cite web| url= http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=4765| title= The Sunshine Boys| publisher= Internet Broadway Database| website= IBDB.com| access-date= April 11, 2012}}</ref>

When [[Sam Levene]] and [[Jack Albertson]] departed the Broadway production to star in the first U.S. National company, they were replaced by [[Lou Jacobi]] as Al Lewis on February 12, 1974, and [[Jack Gilford]] as Willie Clark on October 30, 1973. Jacobi performed the role of Al Lewis for 72 performances. Sam Levene, the original star, is credited with performing the role of Al Lewis 466 times in the original Broadway production before headlining the first U.S. national tour.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/the-sunshine-boys-3160|title=The Sunshine Boys|website=IDBD}}</ref>

[[Tony Award]] nominations went to Simon (Best Play), Albertson (Best Actor in a Play) and Arkin (Best Direction of a Play),<ref>{{cite news| last= Calta| first= Lewis| title= British and 2 American Plays Will Vie for Tonys| work= [[The New York Times]] | date= March 13, 1973| page= 30}}</ref> and Albertson won the [[Drama Desk Award]] for Outstanding Performance (and was nominated for a Tony as well).<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.playbill.com/person/jack-albertson-vault-0000059541| title= Jack Albertson| work= Playbill.com| access-date= January 3, 2018}}</ref> [[Al Hirschfeld]] memorialized<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.alhirschfeldfoundation.org/piece/sunshine-boys#result_info_413|title=SUNSHINE BOYS {{!}} www.alhirschfeldfoundation.org|website=www.alhirschfeldfoundation.org|access-date=2020-01-12}}</ref> the legendary starring performances of [[Jack Albertson]] as Willie Clark and [[Sam Levene]] as Al Lewis, the original Broadway stars of ''The Sunshine Boys'', by creating an iconic caricature for ''[[The New York Times]]'' on December 13, 1972. Titled "Don't Poke With The Finger"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pinterest.com/pin/59391288821902880/|title=#AlHirschfeld caricature of #SamLevene & #JackAlbertson titled "Don't Poke With The Finger" from #NeilSimon original Broadway… {{!}} Caricature, Jack albertson, Dramatic arts|website=Pinterest|language=en|access-date=2020-01-12}}</ref> the caricature references the finger poke running gag and Willie Clark's resentment over having been constantly and aggressively poked during the show and for 43 years by Al Lewis played by Sam Levene.

The 1972 production of ''The Sunshine Boys'' marked the beginning of Neil Simon's long association with producer Emanuel Azenberg,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2018/08/neil-simon-dies-popular-playwright-of-numerous-broadway-hits-was-91-1202452384/|title=Neil Simon Dies: Popular Playwright Of Numerous Broadway Hits Was 91|last1=Haring|first1=Bruce|date=August 26, 2018|website=Deadline|language=en|access-date=September 28, 2019}}</ref> who produced all of Simon's original Broadway plays and musicals that followed.

[[Clive Barnes]], ''[[The New York Times]]'' chief theatre critic, reviewed the original Broadway production on December 21, 1972, stating: "''The Sunshine Boys'' is probably Mr. Simon's best play yet. It deals with a subject very dear to the playwright's heart—vaudeville. Willie Clark is an almost retired vaudeville comedian. His heart is willing, but his lines are failing. His agent is his nephew—long‐suffering and much‐loving. But even a potato‐chip commercial has not gone well, and any actor who cannot crunch potato chips has got to be on his way out."

Regarding the original Broadway stars, Barnes stated: "Jack Albertson as the heart stricken comic never puts a line wrong. He is always pathetic but never enough to make you cry. Lovely. His acerbic partner, Sam Levene, is as tough as vintage chewing gum, and yet with a sort of credible lovability."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/12/21/archives/theater-neil-simons-sunshine-boys-levene-and-albertson-play.html|title=Theater: Neil Simon's'Sunshine Boys'|last=Barnes|first=Clive|date=December 21, 1972|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 28, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Albertson and Levene won unanimous rave notices for their starring performances in the original Broadway production of ''The Sunshine Boys''. Until the play went into rehearsal, Albertson and Levene had never met. Director Alan Arkin recalled<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/12/28/archives/stars-share-esprit-of-sunshine-boys.html|title=Stars Share Esprit of 'Sunshine Boys'|last=Gussow|first=Mel|date=1972-12-28|work=The New York Times|access-date=2020-01-12|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> in an interview with ''[[The New York Times]]'', "Now they work as collaboratively as did Smith and Dale, the legendary team on which "The Sunshine Boys" is partly based." Arkin said "Jack (Albertson) and Sam (Levene) would have these terrific yelling matches". "It used to scare hell out of everybody until we realized that it meant nothing. They were mock battles, completely without anger. They're consummate professionals." Albertson interjected: "There is a 'chemical' between the two". "He knows what I think; and I know what he thinks," Albertson told ''The New York Times''. "Sam and I have the same thing in the play. If one of us blows a line, the other covers. Frankly, I blow more lines than Sam does." The two pros were able to cover lines as they each knew the play, not just their roles. New York Post Theatre Critic [[Richard Watts Jr.]] observed<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Watts|first=Richard|date=December 26, 1972|title=Random Notes|url=https://nypost.com|journal=New York Post|volume=175|issue=4017|pages=60–1|doi=10.1126/science.175.4017.60|pmid=5008579|s2cid=38504357}}</ref> "Jack Albertson and Sam Levene offer the best team acting since [[John Gielgud|Gielgud]] and [[Ralph Richardson|Richardson]] in ''[[Home (Storey play)|Home]]" ''.

The play was revived on Broadway at the [[Lyceum Theatre (Broadway)|Lyceum Theatre]], opening on December 8, 1997, and closing on June 28, 1998, after 230 performances.  Directed by [[John Tillinger]], the cast starred [[Jack Klugman]] as Willie Clark and [[Tony Randall]] as Al Lewis.<ref name="IBDB" /><ref>{{cite web| last1= Viagas| first1= Robert| last2= Lefkowitz| first2= David| url= http://www.playbill.com/news/article/38699-Bway-Sunshine-Boys-To-Shine-On-Through-June-28| title= B'way Sunshine Boys To Shine On Through June 28| website= Playbill.com| date= May 5, 1998}}</ref>

A [[West End theatre|West End]] production of the play, starring  [[Danny DeVito]] (in his West End debut)<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/danny-devito-richard-griffiths-london-west-end-286052| work= [[The Hollywood Reporter]]| title= Danny DeVito to Make West End Debut in 'The Sunshine Boys'| date= January 31, 2012 |first= Stuart| last= Kemp| access-date= January 3, 2018}}</ref>) and [[Richard Griffiths]], opened on May 17, 2012, and played a limited 12-week season until July 28.<ref>{{cite web | last= Girvan | first= Andrew | url= http://www.whatsonstage.com/news/theatre/london/E8831327931244/Danny+DeVito+makes+West+End+debut+alongside+Richard+Griffiths+in+The+Sunshine+Boys.html | title= Danny DeVito makes West End debut with Richard Griffiths in 'Sunshine Boys' | website= whatsonstage.com | date= January 30, 2012 | url-status= dead | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120724004657/http://www.whatsonstage.com/news/theatre/london/E8831327931244/Danny+DeVito+makes+West+End+debut+alongside+Richard+Griffiths+in+The+Sunshine+Boys.html | archive-date= July 24, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| last= Shenton| first= Mark| url= http://www.playbill.com/article/west-end-the-sunshine-boys-starring-danny-devito-and-richard-griffiths-sets-dates-and-theatre-com-186935 |title= West End The Sunshine Boys, Starring Danny DeVito and Richard Griffiths, Sets Dates and Theatre| website= Playbill.com| date= January 30, 2012| access-date= January 3, 2018}}</ref>

Griffiths was later replaced by DeVito's "Taxi" co-star, [[Judd Hirsch]]. In a 2013 review of the Hirsch/Devito cast at the Ahmanson Theatre, Myron Meisel observed: "It's been more than 40 years since ''The Sunshine Boys'' first graced Broadway (with the still unimprovable Jack Albertson and Sam Levene), nearly as long in the tooth as the "Smith and Dale" sketch "Dr. Kronkheit and His Only Living Patient" was when this show was new. Simon fashioned a new, improved update on the routine for his fictional team of Lewis & Clark (Hirsch & DeVito), and his knowledgeable ear for what was then vintage and is now antique humor allows him to bring these anachronistic stylings into a then-contemporary comic setting without compromising the integrity of their original zingy ballsiness".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Meisel |first1=Myron |title=The Sunshine Boys: Theater Review |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/sunshine-boys-theater-review-642663 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=September 29, 2019 |language=en |date=October 3, 2013}}</ref>

===West End cast===
*[[Danny DeVito]] – Willie Clark
*[[Richard Griffiths]] – Al Lewis
*[[Adam Levy (actor)|Adam Levy]] – Ben Silverman
*[[William Maxwell (actor)|William Maxwell]] – Patient & [[Understudy]] Willie
*[[Peter Cadden]] – Voice of TV Director & Understudy Al and Patient
*[[Nick Blakeley]] – Eddie & Understudy Ben
*[[Rebecca Blackstone]] – Miss MacKintosh
*[[Johnnie Fiori]] – Registered Nurse
*[[Oliver Stoney]] – Understudy Eddie & TV Director
*[[Clementine Marlowe-Hunt]] – Miss MacKintosh & Registered Nurse<ref name="run1">{{cite journal |journal=Savoy Theatre Program |title=The Sunshine Boys |date=April 2012 }}</ref><ref name="run2">{{cite web |title=The Sunshine Boys |url=http://www.soniafriedman.com/whats_on/the_sunshine_boys/cast |work=Sonia Friedman Productions website}}</ref>