Paul Stroili’s A Jukebox for the Algonquin has a strangely catchy title that piques curiosity: “What is this Algonquin? And why does it have a jukebox?”
More on the jukebox later. But let’s start at the beginning, decades earlier when Stroili (now an accomplished actor and writer, aged 61) was a mere stripling youth with a job at a senior living facility in upstate New York. “I worked in a facility for elderly people when I was in my late teens, and the people and the environment there fascinated me,” Stroili said when the play premiered at the Purple Rose Theatre Company in 2023. Some 40-years later, the playwright has crafted a character-driven play about connection and human contact, with four older folks at the center of the “serious comedy about sex, drugs and rocking chairs.”
If you are familiar with comedies like “Grumpy Old Men” or “Space Cowboys”, you’ll recognize the characters of Johnny, Dennis, Peg and Annie who hatch a one-of-a-kind plan to raise funds for a jukebox in their senior center’s community room. Stroili points out that while audiences might expect that a play set in a senior care center is going to be “a play about old people [in a] sweet sort of Hallmarky type, ‘wacky old people’ type thing,” they’d only be touching the tip of the iceberg. Yes, this is a play centered around “people who happen to have lived longer” but “it’s got some teeth, this play.” Surrounding our central Fab Four are staff members at Placid Pines (Josephina, Tyler and Chuck) whose varying ages and life experiences augment the human tapestry of the story.
The “Jukebox” 2023 premiere at Purple Rose in Chelsea, MI was met with full houses and raving audience reviews, making people of all ages laugh – while confronting some serious topics about aging, friendship, loss, bingo and armchair yoga. . .and the strange fish-bowl existence in a longterm care facility where the residents share daily life with strangers, knowing they will end their life here. At the regional premiere of the play at Miners Alley Performing Arts Center (Golden, CO), the run of the play was quickly extended to meet the voracious demand for tickets. These early regional productions garnered several awards in Michigan and in Colorado.
“The play is, first and foremost – very funny,” Stroili said. “But there are a number of poignant moments that people have been tremendously moved by. I have heard first-hand from many of our audience members—of all ages—that regardless of where you are in life, there’s something for everyone to identify with. We have been overwhelmed by the response. Some people have returned three or more times – every audience thus far has given the performers a standing ovation. It’s beyond anything I ever expected, and I’m tremendously honored to be a part of it.”
Photos from Purple Rose Theater Company, Chelsea MI, founded by actor, playwright, musician and Michigan native Jeff Daniels; used with permission.