The Floating Light Bulb
Encyclopedia
The Floating Light Bulb is a 1981 Broadway play by Woody Allen
. Semi-autobiographical
, it focuses on a lower middle class
family living in Canarsie, Brooklyn
in 1945.
Enid Pollack, who once aspired to be a dancer in George White's Scandals
, spends her days hounding neighbors with telephone business schemes in order to support the family. Her philandering husband Max is a gambler furtively planning his escape from his marriage. Stuttering teenaged son Paul is a frail, bright, shy boy who tries to perfect magic tricks - including a floating light bulb illusion - in his bedroom. When talent agent
Jerry Wexler arrives at the house, seemingly to audition Paul, Enid grasps at the opportunity for him to shine in the spotlight that eluded her, only to have her hopes dashed when she realizes Wexler is more interested in wooing her than signing her son as a client.
opened at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre
in Lincoln Center
on April 27, 1981 and ran for 62 performances. Directed by Ulu Grosbard
, the cast included Beatrice Arthur
as Enid, Danny Aiello
as Max, Brian Backer
as Paul, and Jack Weston as Jerry.
called the play a "conventional, modest and at times pedestrian family drama" and "nothing to be embarrassed about" although "it could easily be mistaken for a journeyman effort by a much younger and less experienced writer." He added, "There are a few laughs, a few well-wrought characters, and, in Act II, a beautifully written scene that leads to a moving final curtain. But most of the time Light Bulb is superficial and only mildly involving. As a serious playwright, Mr. Allen is still learning his craft and finding his voice. Like so many young American plays, this one is overly beholden to the early Tennessee Williams
."
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
. Semi-autobiographical
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, it focuses on a lower middle class
Lower middle class
In developed nations across the world, the lower middle class is a sub-division of the greater middle class. Universally the term refers to the group of middle class households or individuals who have not attained the status of the upper middle class associated with the higher realms of the middle...
family living in Canarsie, Brooklyn
Canarsie, Brooklyn
Canarsie is a neighborhood in the southeastern portion of the borough of Brooklyn, in New York City, United States. The area is part of Brooklyn Community Board 18....
in 1945.
Plot
MatriarchMatriarchy
A matriarchy is a society in which females, especially mothers, have the central roles of political leadership and moral authority. It is also sometimes called a gynocratic or gynocentric society....
Enid Pollack, who once aspired to be a dancer in George White's Scandals
George White's Scandals
George White's Scandals were a long-running string of Broadway revues produced by George White that ran from 1919–1939, modelled after the Ziegfeld Follies. The "Scandals" launched the careers of many entertainers, including W.C. Fields, the Three Stooges, Ray Bolger, Helen Morgan, Ethel Merman, ...
, spends her days hounding neighbors with telephone business schemes in order to support the family. Her philandering husband Max is a gambler furtively planning his escape from his marriage. Stuttering teenaged son Paul is a frail, bright, shy boy who tries to perfect magic tricks - including a floating light bulb illusion - in his bedroom. When talent agent
Talent agent
A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds jobs for actors, authors, film directors, musicians, models, producers, professional athletes, writers and other people in various entertainment businesses. Having an agent is not required, but does help the artist in getting jobs...
Jerry Wexler arrives at the house, seemingly to audition Paul, Enid grasps at the opportunity for him to shine in the spotlight that eluded her, only to have her hopes dashed when she realizes Wexler is more interested in wooing her than signing her son as a client.
Production
After 16 previews, the Broadway productionBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
opened at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre
Vivian Beaumont Theatre
The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a theatre located in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The structure was designed by Finnish American architect Eero Saarinen, and Jo Mielziner was responsible for the design of the stage and interior.The Vivian...
in Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...
on April 27, 1981 and ran for 62 performances. Directed by Ulu Grosbard
Ulu Grosbard
Ulu Grosbard is a Belgian-born, naturalized American theatre and film director and film producer.Born in Antwerp, Grosbard emigrated to Havana with his family in 1942. In 1948, they moved to the United States, where he earned Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Chicago...
, the cast included Beatrice Arthur
Beatrice Arthur
Beatrice "Bea" Arthur was an American actress, comedienne and singer whose career spanned seven decades. Arthur achieved fame as the character Maude Findlay on the 1970s sitcoms All in the Family and Maude, and as Dorothy Zbornak on the 1980s sitcom The Golden Girls, winning Emmy Awards for both...
as Enid, Danny Aiello
Danny Aiello
Daniel Louis "Danny" Aiello, Jr. is an American actor who has appeared in numerous motion pictures, including Once Upon a Time in America, Ruby, The Godfather: Part II, Hudson Hawk, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Moonstruck, Léon, Two Days in the Valley, and Dinner Rush...
as Max, Brian Backer
Brian Backer
Brian Backer is an American actor who has starred in film and on television. He is best known for his role in the 1982 hit comedy film Fast Times at Ridgemont High as shy teenager Mark "Rat" Ratner...
as Paul, and Jack Weston as Jerry.
Reception
In his review in the New York Times, Frank RichFrank Rich
Frank Rich is an American essayist and op-ed columnist who wrote for The New York Times from 1980, when he was appointed its chief theatre critic, until 2011...
called the play a "conventional, modest and at times pedestrian family drama" and "nothing to be embarrassed about" although "it could easily be mistaken for a journeyman effort by a much younger and less experienced writer." He added, "There are a few laughs, a few well-wrought characters, and, in Act II, a beautifully written scene that leads to a moving final curtain. But most of the time Light Bulb is superficial and only mildly involving. As a serious playwright, Mr. Allen is still learning his craft and finding his voice. Like so many young American plays, this one is overly beholden to the early Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
."