From Simon to ‘The Shark’: Laguna Playhouse Launches Its Reinvention

American theaters once relied on Neil Simon to guarantee at least one box office hit each season.

by Joel Beers of Culture OC

Last December, Adele Adkins threw him overboard – scrapping a planned production of Simon’s “Laughter on the 23rd Floor” for a smaller, more cost-efficient show with little name recognition but a perfect title for a beach town: “The Shark Is Broken,” which opened last week.

The move wasn’t about artistic merit. It was about survival.  

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