←Recommendations of Last Laugh

A trip down stand-up memory lane at a turning point of two comedy styles and two people’s lives. A woman comedian out of the 1980s’ alternative comedy scene on the verge of her big break. A Borscht Belt stand up, swallowed up and spat out by TV, ambushing her, reciting old school routines. Yet like shaggy dog stories and punchlines, the senior with failing health and the female comedian cannot do without each other. Two tremendous roles for actors with the showbiz generation gap mirroring social change and personal insecurities and relationships in a quick-fire, thought-provoking piece.

Norkin's LAST LAUGH is a pure delight! It's genuinely engaging and funny. There is a nice amount of heart that weaves this story together beautifully. I love the format that Norkin uses, it's really clever and unique which to me always makes for great theatre. I would love to see this staged!

The Last Laugh is a history book of standup gold - LAST LAUGH by Morey Norkin is a play of standup gold. The folks who do standup rework each word, line and the world around us into a monologue to make us recognize and laugh. This play turns standup into theatre - two practitioners who embrace this world and their own lives before it is too late. Norkin captures their lives being reworked and it is an exhilarating transition. Bravo.

My knowledge of comedy begins with the Borscht Belt and ends with today’s newcomers. The world spins and sometimes we feel left behind - out of orbit. Norkin bridges the “before” and “after” of this unique world with constant comic relief, regret, wishes, and humanity. Yes, you’ll laugh a lot. You will also feel “all the feels.” It’s what theatre does best.

The comic one-liners and the underlying more serious thread are masterfully balanced in Last Laugh by Morey Norkin. Jackie James is everything a borscht belt comedian should be. His humor lies with in-law jokes, self-deprecation and insults, wise-cracks, and complaints. Jennifer's style is more current stand-up but the two of them are comic treasures, meeting in the middle. Thank you, Mr. Norkin for some really good laughs.

The power of nature over nurture.....and regrets. A witty, yet deep and personal piece. Dialogue has many cheap gags - but the characters darn well know it and are using them to hide something much deeper. Their gags are their armour, but we see right through them thanks to the great characterisation by Morey. The last two words provide a wrap up, but also a sense of needed continuation, a chance of longevity or remembrance. Nice work!

Striking a balance between comedy and drama is never an easy feat, but Morey Norkin does a fantastic job of using comedy to create funny characters who themselves use jokes as a bridge to deal with pain and heartbreak. There is so much smart dialogue here that blends humor and pathos, unexpectedly juxtaposing the acts of two generations of comics just trying to get a laugh. Wonderfully moving piece!

"Last Laugh" is a touching comedy about family, legacy, and the power of laughter. Norkin creates vibrant characters in Jackie and Jennifer, one about to have a big break, one with their career in the past. When the twist comes, it rocks the boat and gives a clear trajectory for the rest of the play. The ending especially I found brilliant and touching. This would be a fantastic play to produce and see preformed.

We all want to feel that we are leaving some sort of mark in the world, be it small or large and in Last Laugh we have one comic wishing to pass something along to his daughter who also is an upcoming comic and a daughter he never knew as such since he left her mother when he found out she was with child. Norkin touches upon the frailty of life and that desire to achieve at something in the life we are given, be it big or small, funny or not, before the spotlight is turned off.

Oh man! I loved this piece by Morey Norkin. It hits all the right targets for me. It's laugh out loud funny! It's poignant. It's about family. There are great old jokes, new jokes, clever jokes, corny jokes. It's got it all. And the characters are so perfectly drawn here. They feel like real people. I highly recommend someone staging this. I'd go see it. Can't get a better endorsement than that...