Room Service

Room Service (1937), a farce by John Murray and Allen Boretz. [ Cort Theatre, 500 perf.] Gordon Miller (Sam Levene), a penny‐ante producer, has a play, a director (Philip Loeb), a cast of twenty‐two actors, and the promise of a theatre but no money. He sells a ten‐percent interest in the show to Joseph Gribble (Cliff Dunstan), the manager of the White Way Hotel, in return for lodging his entire entourage. But when the bills mount up, the hotel attempts to oust the company. Miller has his not‐very‐bright playwright, Leo Davis (Eddie Albert), pretend he is too ill to move. The ploy is threatened with exposure, so Miller and Binion announce Davis has committed suicide, and they stall for time by claiming they must attend to the funeral. In desperation the hotel helps finance the play, which becomes a smash hit. The farce was originally produced by Sam H. Harris, who withdrew from it during tryouts. George Abbott took over, helped rewrite it and directed it. Richard Watts, Jr. of the Post welcomed Room Service as “the funniest play that New York has seen in years and years.” A 1983 revival closed before reaching New York, but a 1985 Off‐Broadway mounting was well received.