Location sells, but real estate plays. A new one-act musical comedy, “Co-op: A Comedy of Epic Pretensions,” brings the experience of broker, playwright and director John Cecil to the stage, telling the story of a boy raised in secret by a mystical superintendent at HouseProud Towers, an Upper West Side co-op.
The heir apparent to the presidency of the co-op board of directors, Art Pendragon, played by L.A.-based comic Joshua Meindertsma, must deal with corrupt board members and an overzealous developer, who dons a Donald Trump wig throughout the show. Many of the characters and situations that Cecil lampoons in his new play are based on his experiences as a sales associate with Bellmarc Realty.
Cecil’s other writing credits include “Volcano,” an Off Off Broadway play that ran in 2004, about tourism and the environment. A previous career in education led Cecil to create the comedy “Riverdunce” five years ago. “I love the form and love to lampoon whatever field I’m working in,” he says.
While elements of the comedy are exaggerated for theatrical purposes, Cecil says in his day job he is no stranger to drama. “I have worked with wild and crazy people, including a couple of sellers who claimed there was a death in the family so they wouldn’t have to sell their apartment. I’ve gotten calls from people at eleven o’clock at night screaming and yelling.”
Cecil is not the first playwright to mix theater and real estate. Actor Charles Grodin’s “The Right Kind Of People” premiered earlier this year at San Francisco’s Magic Theatre. Grodin, who also delved into his views on the hypocrisy and prejudice of New York City co-op boards, based the play on his stint on the board of a tony Upper East Side apartment building.
Grodin has since moved to Connecticut, and Cecil has spared himself the anguish of living or trying to live in a co-op by staying put in a condo.
“Co-op,” will play from June 2 until June 17 at the Producers Club at 358 West 44th Street.