The Prisoner Of Second Avenue

Jeff Goldblum stars in the Old Vic's production at the Vaudeville Theatre of The Prisoner of Second Avenue, a 1970s-set comedy by Neil Simon which follows the trials of city living suffered by a married couple in New York. Goldblum stars as Mel, opposite Oscar and Tony award-winning actress Mercedes Ruehl (Married to the Mob, The Fisher King, Lost in Yonkers) who makes her London stage debut as his wife Edna Edison. First seen on Broadway in 1971, starring Peter Falk and Lee Grant, the play ran for two years, received a Tony Award nomination and was made into a film in 1975, starring Jack Lemmon and Anne Bancroft. The comedy is certainly black, finding humour where many would despair - made redundant and in the midst of an economic crisis, Mel suffers a nervous breakdown. The family gathers to offer support, with Edna stoically bearing the burden of his disintegration and self-pity. Goldblum said of his new role, "I've been in love with Neil Simon's work my whole life. He's not only a comic genius, as everyone knows, but sage in matters of the soul as well." This new production, directed by multi-award winning playwright and director Terry Johnson (whose production of La Cage aux Folles on Broadway has been nominated for 11 Tony Awards), is the Old Vic's first West End production.