Fish in the Dark
Written byLarry David
Directed byAnna Shapiro
Date premieredMarch 5, 2015 (2015-03-05)
Place premieredBroadway, Cort Theatre
Original languageEnglish
SubjectComedy
GenreDrama
SettingLos Angeles, California

Fish in the Dark is a play by Larry David that focuses on fifteen characters as they deal with a death in the family. The play premiered on Broadway in 2015.

History

Larry David got the idea for the play from his friend and lawyer Lloyd Braun. After Braun's father died, David went to visit him. Lloyd said "We’re sitting shiva, and Larry’s over the first day at my house, and I was telling him a whole bunch of stories of what had gone on for the last few days, because some were crazy and hilarious, like a relative flying in from wherever ’cause they want to be in show business. It’s an outlet for me. We start talking about how it’s incredible material. Larry says, 'It’s a Broadway play.'"[1]

Synopsis

The play opens in a hospital waiting room. Sidney Drexel, the family patriarch, is dying and assorted family members are coming to pay their last respects—and squabble over everything from which son will have to take care of Mom to who gets Dad's Rolex watch. Brothers Norman Drexel and Arthur Drexel are visiting their father in the hospital, along with Norman's wife Brenda and Arthur's girlfriend Michelle. Brenda is upset because she fears that her mother-in-law Gloria will live with them should the ill father die.

Broadway production

Previews for the play started on February 2, 2015 at the Cort Theatre, with the official opening on March 5. Jason Alexander took over the role of Norman Drexel [2] and Glenne Headly took over the role of Brenda Drexel on June 9, 2015. Direction is by Anna D. Shapiro with original music by David Yazbek.

The play was originally scheduled to end on July 7, then extended to July 19, 2015 and was extended again to August 1, 2015.[3][4]

The play took in $13.5 million in advance sales at the box office, the highest advance for any spring production on Broadway and, according to The New York Times, beat the previous record for a play, $13.05 million for the 2013 revival of Harold Pinter's Betrayal.[3]

Cast

Critical reception

The Broadway production received mixed reviews. The curtain.up reviewer noted "His first play, actually a direct descendant of his popular HBO sitcom 'Curb Your Enthusiasm', attracted twenty-two producers willing to mount it with a cast of eighteen at a time when even seasoned playwrights are asked to write for small casts. They also reached deep enough into their pockets to pay for three set changes, with one that even includes an elevator. And right those producers were. Fish in the Dark reeled in more than $14m in advance ticket sales. And the less than ecstatic initial reviews don't seem to have affected the demand for tickets. No matter that David has chosen to tie his stage debut to the retro sixties at a time when even Neil Simon's once all over Broadway comedies have lost their laugh-a-minute, ticket selling pull.... David's less original and nuanced play will keep the cash registers ringing as long as he's on stage to dish up the gags."[5]

References

  1. ↑ Benjamin Wallace (2015-01-25). "Larry David the Schmuck Was the Best Thing to Happen to Larry David the Mensch". Vulture. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
  2. ↑ Gordon Cox (2015-03-26). "Jason Alexander Will Take Over Larry David's Role in Broadway's 'Fish in the Dark'". Variety. Retrieved 2015-06-24.
  3. 1 2 Viagas, Robert and Marzullo, Joseph. "Starring Jason Alexander 'Fish in the Dark' Extends to Aug 1" playbill.com, June 23, 2015
  4. ↑ Viagas, Robert. "Jason Alexander Will Replace Larry David in Broadway's Fish in the Dark" playbill.com, March 26, 2015
  5. ↑ Sommer, Elyse. "Curtain Up Review. 'A Fish in the Dark' " curtainup.com, 2015
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