Audition Notice: 45 Seconds from Broadway

Set in the “Polish Tea Room”—the converted ballroom of the N.Y. theater district’s Edison Hotel and in reality “Cafe Edison”— Neil Simon focuses his attention on a variety of cafe patrons. We drop in for a brief seasonal visit into the ongoing lives of the cafe owners and their customers over a year’s time with Act I’s two scenes, “Summer” and “Autumn”. Act II catches up with the participants in “Winter” and “Spring”. Hotel Edison is far from a Four Seasons Hotel, but the action is genuinely Four Seasons! Tourists, would-be show folk, and Broadway denizens converge for the comfortable pleasures of borscht or cheesecake. The cafe is run by the kind—if gruff—Bernie and Zelda, who hire two separate newcomers, an aspiring actress from Ohio and a struggling playwright from South Africa. Meanwhile, a stand-up Broadway comedian amuses and perplexes his English producer and copes with his sad-sack brother; a sharp-tongued comedienne bides her time at the counter; an elderly couple with delusions of grandeur make their regular entrances; and two suburban playgoers survey the scene. The future of this beloved down-to-earth haven hangs in the balance as the seasons pass, as do the fates of its owners and regulars. Visit HYPERLINK "http://www.conejoplayers.org" www.conejoplayers.org for more details.