Sheila Abergel and Ken Clement

Following a critically acclaimed and sold-out run at the Broward Stage Door Theatre, Neil Simon’s classic comedy, Last of the Red Hot Lovers will open at the Miami Beach Stage Door Theatre on Friday, March 9, with performances each weekend through March 25th.

Last of the Red Hot Lovers is a comedy about Barney Cashman, a middle-aged, married nebbish who wants to have an affair. Barney, pitch-perfectly performed by Len Cashman, selects his mother’s uptown apartment for the rendezvous because of its ambience – and the fact that his mom will be out doing volunteer work two hours every week.

His first choice as paramour is Elaine Navazio, an experienced sexpot, played wittily by Elissa D. Solomon. When Barney asks “Are you as cold as you seem?” Elaine retorts, “I need gloves to take off my underwear.” It becomes clear that the seduction is going nowhere. Determined to experience an adulterous affair, the play takes one comedic turns after another as Barney continues be unsuccessful in his choice of partners. Shira Abergel, in the role of Bobbi Michelle, a beautiful actress he picked up in Central Park, and Carol Sussman, as Jeanette Fisher, his wife’s moralizing best friend, provide artful entertainment and witty banter as the scenario unfolds.

Michael Leeds’s masterful direction of the cast ensemble deepens the audience’s emotional connection to this Neil Simon Comedy, and the critics agree. “Stage Door delivers an intriguing take on The Last of the Red Hot Lovers, one that isn’t just the same old simple Simon,” wrote Christine Dolen in The Miami Herald. “It’s hard to imagine how the Stage Door Theatre’s production of the Neil Simon comedy “Last of the Red Hot Lovers” could be any better.” says Rod Hagwood of the Sun-Sentinel.

Opened in 2011, the Miami Beach Stage Door Theatre is operated by Derelle Bunn and David Torres, co-founders of the Broward Stage Door Theatre, their flagship theatre in Coral Springs, and winner of the 2011 Carbonell Award for Best Production of a Musical in 2011.

Performance Schedule:
Last of the Red Hot Lovers runs March 9 – 25. All performances are on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM; Saturdays and Sundays at 2 PM. Tickets are $38 for all performances except for Saturday evenings, priced at $42. Tickets are available at the Box Office at the Miami Beach Stage Door at the Byron Carlyle, 500 71st Street, Miami Beach or by calling (305) 397-8977. For further information, please go to wwwstagedoortheatre.com.

DiSh – Dinner and a Show
The City of Miami Beach has launched “DiSh,” the moniker for Dinner and a Show, a program in which participating restaurants near the Miami Beach Stage Door Theatre offer ticket holders a 15 percent discount on their lunch or dinner simply by presenting their ticket or ticket stub. Miami Beach residents also receive a 10 percent discount on tickets at theatre. For the “dish” on participating restaurants, log on to www.mbculture.com/dish/.