If you were a fan of "Taxi" back in the day -- that day being the very late '70s and early '80s, though the beloved series has played again and again via reruns -- you likely awaited three moments. One? An Andy Kaufman sighting, which was sure to be delightfully weird. Two? A Christopher Lloyd sighting, which was sure to be delightfully weird.
And three? Cabbie Alex Rieger tussling with dispatcher Louie De Palma, verbal smash to barbed observation. Judd Hirsch and Danny DeVito are one of the great twosomes of the sitcom hall of fame, and the chance to see them play another tussling-type twosome, in a play by none other than Neil Simon, will surely tempt "Taxi" fans hither and yon.
The play? It's "The Sunshine Boys," a witty portrait of two at-odds vaudeville stars who must reunite, against their better judgments and wishes, for a one last tempting TV show. Will their be sparring, mouthiness, finger-pointing, raw recollections, and a lot of Simon-style funny? You bet.
And you're also right if you're thinking this is the first time Hirsch and DeVito have reunited.
The place? The Ahmanson.
The date? "The Sunshine Boys" goes into previews on Tuesday, Sept. 24 and runs through Nov. 3.
Funny enough, "Taxi" buffs will remember that the cab company on the series was called the Sunshine Cab Company. "Taxi" and the Neil Simon play, of course, are two different rays of sunshine, completely.
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And let's pause before we go to give fond tribute to actor Richard Griffiths, who had been slated to star opposite Mr. DeVito at the Ahmanson. The thespian passed away last March. Danny DeVito remembered the actor, an actor he acted with on the West End, with these nice words: "Sharing the stage with Richard was one of the happiest times I've ever spent."
