Rob Reiner, Billy Crystal, and the One-Night Cast of Enter Laughing, The Musical Honor Carl Reiner, Raise Money for Emerging Artists

From left, cast members Josh Grisetti, Sharon Lawrence, honoree Carl Reiner and cast member Kevin Odekirk are at the curtain call for a staged reading of <i>Enter Laughing, The Musical</i> at the Mark Taper Forum on Monday, January 28. — From left, cast members Josh Grisetti, Sharon Lawrence, honoree Carl Reiner and cast member Kevin Odekirk are at the curtain call for a staged reading of *Enter Laughing, The Musical* at the Mark Taper Forum on Monday, January 28.
Ryan Miller/Capture Imaging

In honor of comedy legend Carl Reiner’s 75 years in the business, Center Theatre Group presented a staged reading of Enter Laughing, The Musical, which is inspired by Reiner’s experiences as a young man struggling to break into the New York theater scene. The reading directly followed a pre-show cocktail tribute hosted by Rob Reiner (A Few Good Men) and Billy Crystal (When Harry Met Sally).

The one-night-only benefit, which took place at the Mark Taper Forum on January 28, generated $290, 000 in ticket sales, all of which will be used to support Center Theatre Group’s programs and emerging artists.

The show featured a book by Joseph Stein (Fiddler on The Roof, Zorba the Greek), music and lyrics by Stan Daniels (Taxi, The Mary Tyler Moore Show) and orchestrations by Matt Castle (Company).

The cast of Enter Laughing, The Musical included Deborah S. Craig (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Erick Devine (Ragtime), Josh Grisetti (Broadway Bound), Sharon Lawrence (NYPD Blue), Michele Lee (Knots Landing), Alan Mandell (Waiting For Godot), Gerry McIntyre (Once on This Island), Gina Milo (Les Misérables), Sara Niemietz (Hollywood Arms), Kevin Odekirk (Les Misérables), Stuart Pankin (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), Rob Reiner, Darcie Roberts(Curtains) John Rubinstein (Desperate Housewives) and Robb Sapp (Wicked).