Azuay Community Theater presents the new hit comedy ‘A Jukebox for the Algonquin’, October 23 -26

By John Olson

Cuenca’s English language theater has scored a coup in securing the rights to produce a new play that has already won rave reviews in Chicago, Los Angeles and Denver since its premiere in Michigan in 2023. A Jukebox for the Algonquin is a comedy-drama about the residents of a senior living facility who want to buy a vintage Wurlitzer jukebox to liven up their boring rec room.

Wes “The Mentalist” Elliott rehearses his role as Chuck. (Aiden Massey)

A Jukebox for the Algonquin was developed and first produced at the Purple Rose Theatre, a company near Ann Arbor, Michigan founded by the stage and screen actor Jeff Daniels. The Purple Rose Theatre is dedicated to developing new American plays, and A Jukebox for the Algonquin became the most successful production in the company’s history.

The playwright Paul Stroili, a Chicago-based actor and writer, based the play on his experiences in a summer job during his college years. He says, “I had a menial job at a senior residential facility and I thought it was going to be boring,” he says, “but I got to know and enjoy the residents so much that the experience stayed with me.” The people he met at that facility inspired the characters he created for A Jukebox for the Algonquin, which he insists is not “a play about old people, it’s a play about people who have lived longer.”

In his play, one of the older residents, an African American widower named Johnny, desperately wants to acquire a vintage Wurlitzer jukebox for their recreation room, which is called the Algonquin.  He’s found a used model selling for $3,000, but he and the other residents have no way of coming up with that much money. That is, not until Peg, a new resident in the independent living unit, comes up with a most unusual and illegal scheme to raise the cash.

Ernest Whaley and LaRahna Hughes will play Johnny and Josefina. (Aiden Massey)

Johnny’s fellow residents at the Placid Pines Senior Care Center include Dennis, a gay man in his sixties who uses a wheelchair, and the vision-impaired, socially conscious Annie. We also meet some of the employees. There’s the maintenance man Chuck, a middle-aged man with a past who’s a probationary employee; his younger co-worker Tyler, and the no-nonsense administrator Josefina.

To bring this play to life, ACT has assembled a cast of newcomers and veterans. Ernest Whaley, who will play Johnny, is new to ACT but may be familiar to Cuenca audiences as he regularly sings at restaurants around town. Also performing at ACT for the first time are LaRahna Hughes as Josefina, and Alan Hoffman as Tyler.

Bob Hay gets accustomed to a wheelchair for his role as Dennis. (Aiden Massey)

The cast also includes actors familiar to ACT audiences. Johnny’s best friend at the facility – a gay man named Dennis who uses a wheelchair – will be played by Bob Hay, of ACT’s The Prisoner of Second Avenue, Harvey, and many other plays. Other ACT veterans in the cast are Lovey Hendon as the vision-impaired, socially conscious Annie; Kate Marin of The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife as Peg – the independent living resident who comes up with the scheme to raise the money; and Wes Elliott – as recognized for his appearances as Wes the Mentalist as he us for his ACT roles in The Waverly Gallery and others as Chuck. This stellar cast is being directed by another newcomer to ACT, Terry Ross, who has extensive theatre and film directing credits in California and holds an MFA in Directing from University of California, Davis.

Since its premiere in Michigan, A Jukebox for the Algonquin has been winning rave reviews across the US. In Chicago, the publication New City called it “…funny, thought-provoking and well-written…from laugh-out-loud comedic escapades to somber moments of reflection, bolstered by a cast of characters who are equally outrageous and endearing.”  Buzz Center Stage said it is “…a touching tribute to friendship, community, and the timeless spark that fuels our lives, no matter our age.” Splash Magazine said of the Los Angeles production, “This well written hilarious tale of canny, clever seniors is also charming, touching, and just might bring tears to your eyes.” The Denver Gazette called it “a deeply affecting comedy that reveals a major playwriting talent in Paul Stroili.”

Playwright Paul Stroili (right) confers with Jeff Daniels (left) in rehearsal for the Michigan premiere.

Cuenca audiences will have the chance to enjoy this heartwarming comedy-drama that is winning hearts across the US, from Thursday, October 23 through Sunday, October 26, at 3:00 pm each day. The theater opens at 2:00 pm before each performance for a cash bar happy hour. Tickets are $15.00 and may be purchased online at www.actseats.com. Patrons can save with all-season Flex Tickets and get six tickets for the price of five—a $90 value for $75—by visiting https://www.actseats.com/flex-purchase.

Azuay Community Theater is located at 14-46 Antonio Vega Muñoz, on several bus lines and just blocks from the 3 de Noviembre and Coronel Talbot Tranvia stops. There is also free off-street parking adjacent to the theatre. The theater is at street level and there are no stairs to climb. It opens at 2:00 pm before each performance for a cash bar happy hour with drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and snacks available for purchase.