‘Sunshine Boys’ Shinesbright for Conklin Crew

By Patricia S. Stiller

Multiple-award-winning playwright Neil Simon knows funny.

His long list of hits includes “The Odd Couple,”"Barefoot in the Park,”"The Goodbye Girl” and “Lost in Yonkers,” just to name a few.

Simon’s gift for highlighting the humor in being human takes center stage at the Barn II Dinner Theatre, along with Peoria funnymen Mike Dentino and Marshall Lipkin, in their current production of the Simon classic, “The Sunshine Boys.”

In this poignant comedy, Lipkin plays Willie Clark, an aging vaudevillian who pesters his long-suffering nephew Ben, a talent agent, to get him work – even though it’s now 1972, some 40 years after vaudeville took its last bow.

Ben, played with perfect exasperation by John Johnson, visits his Uncle Willie every Wednesday, bringing him copies of Variety, low- sodium soup and two cigars, though he swears each week it will be the last time.

On this particular Wednesday, Ben informs his uncle that-CBS has contacted him about a special they want to produce on the history of comedy.

They would like to reunite Willie with his former partner-Al Lewis, and introduce-their famous-”Doctor” sketch to a whole new generation.

Ah, but there’s a catch.

Willie and Al haven’t spoken in more than 11 years. Willie-never got over Al’s decision to retire just after their appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” and has been nursing a grudge ever since.

Each agree to at least rehearse the sketch, with some reservations. But will it ever make it to the stage?

The-road to the CBS studios is paved with charm and laughter, played to the hilt by Lipkin and Dentino. And this production, an opportunity to see some of Peoria’s finest, is well worth an evening in the country.

Fine appearances by Diann L. Thompson as the voluptuous “Nursey- Nurse,” Pat Gaik as the-timid stage manager and Mary Simon as the RN make this a stellar production indeed.

(c) 2008 Pantagraph. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.