The Prisoner of Second Avenue

In Neil Simon’s 1971 comedy, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, 47-year-old Mel is a man whose nerves are frayed. He lives in an overpriced New York apartment building, his neighbors are noisy, and he’s being swept aside in a wave of downsizing at the corporation where he’s toiled for years; meanwhile all around him New York is going straight to hell in a wave of crime, labor strikes and utility failures.
Fortunately for Mel, he’s got Edna, the most patient, adoring and unconditionally loving spouse in an American play since Arthur Miller created Linda Loman. Edna gets a job to try to hold things together.
Mel’s not otherwise alone, either. He is visited by his four older siblings when it is clear that he is falling over the edge. God bless them, they just want to help. But it soon becomes clear that, in some respects, they don’t have a much stronger grip on things than he does.
The opening night performance on August 19 is preceded at 7:15 by a light buffet and Champagne reception.