The Rep presents Peter Goers’ excellent version of Neil Simon’s The Sunshine Boys at the Arts Theatre featuring outstanding performances by Robert Cusenza, Robin Schmelzkopf and Tom Tassone with their best New York accents.
The Sunshine Boys is about the vaudevillian comedy duo Al Lewis (Robin Schmelzkopf) and Willie Clark (Robert Cusenza) who for 43 years performed the act known as The Sunshine Boys. However, 11 years prior Al retired from the act and Willie has been struggling to earn a living in show business since the split even taking work in TV commercials
Willie’s agent is his nephew Ben Silverman (Tom Tassone) who is finding it hard to get Willie any work particularly as his aged uncle battles to remember his lines and names. Ben visits Willie every Wednesday bringing him the latest edition of ‘Variety’, low salt food and cigars. The TV network CBS is planning to produce a history of American comedy and wants the duo to reform to perform one of their classic sketches.
Ben grapples to get the belligerent Willie to agree to the reunion, even with the big fee offered by CBS, but after much argument Willie agrees, and Ben arranges for them to rehearse in Willie’s hotel apartment. Al is dropped at Willie’s apartment by his daughter, who he lives with at her New Jersey house, but their reunion begins cooly then becomes argumentative and their big break reformation becomes in doubt.
First impressions of the production, which opens in Willie’s hotel apartment, sets a high bar with Goers’ first-rate set design especially with the large backdrop of seating in an old theatre, then continues with Laura Doheny’s splendid costumes. These impressions continue as Cusenza and Tassone begin Simon’s impressive script as the humour begins to hit with the audience and the play brilliantly unfolds. Simon’s script is sometimes demanding with its back-and-forth dialog, but all are skilfully handled by the cast especially Cusenza, Schmelzkopf and Tassone.
With its long history from the original Broadway production in 1972 to the 1975 feature film with Walter Matthau and George Burns, in his Oscar winning role, then a Woody Allen film in 1997 and even a version of the play on the West End starring Danny DeVito in 2012, The Sunshine Boys is a classic and well-loved play. This version does justice to the play’s long history and Peter Goers, Assistant Director/Co-stage Manager Brian Wellington, the superb cast and crew deserve high praise for this exemplary production.
Reviewed by Rob McKinnon
Rating; 5/5
The Sunshine Boys runs 10 September – 19 September 2026
Venue: Arts Theatre, 53 Angas Street, Adelaide
Tickets: https://artstheatresa.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/159440
To book tickets to The Sunshine Boys, please visit https://adelaiderep.com/season-2026/the-sunshine-boys.
