Comedy vets Peter Scolari (White’s Lies, Hairspray; TV’s Newhart and Bosom Buddies) and Liz Torres (Gilmore Girls, The John Larroquette Show) will star in the off-Broadway premiere of It Must Be Him, a new comedy by Kenny Solms, co-creator of The Carol Burnett Show. The play will begin previews at the Peter J. Sharp Theatre on August 24 and open on September 1 for a limited engagement through September 26. Daniel Kutner, longtime associate of Harold Prince, will direct.
In addition to Scolari and Torres, the cast will include Patrick Cummings (Happiness), Tony nominee Stephanie D’Abruzzo (Avenue Q), Harris Doran (Love Jerry), Ryan Duncan (Altar Boyz), John Treacy Egan (The Producers), Jonathan C. Kaplan (Falsettos), David Margulies (45 Seconds from Broadway), Alice Playten (Caroline, or Change; Hello, Dolly!), Edward Staudenmayer (Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me) and Jessica Tyler Wright (Sweeney Todd).
In It Must Be Him, Louie Wexler (Scolari), a whiz kid comedy writer from the heyday of variety television, is now down on his luck. With his devoted agent (Egan) and his considerably less devoted housekeeper (Torres) by his side, Louie finds himself broke, lonely and on the wrong side of middle age. Desperate to rekindle his fading career, save his posh Beverly Hills home and find the man of his dreams, Louie searches high and low for one last shot at his own real-life happy ending.
The creative team features Wendy Seyb (choreography), Court Watson (scenic design), Laurie Churba (costume design), Joel Silver (lighting design) and Duncan Edwards (sound design). Special musical material is by Larry Grossman (music) and Ryan Cunningham (lyrics). The show will be produced by Orin Wolf and Off the Aisle Productions.