Yakov Smirnoff Solo As Long as We Both Shall Laugh Opens on Broadway, April 7

By Ernio Hernandez
07 Apr 2003

Yakov Smirnoff
Yakov Smirnoff
Photo by Jean-Marie Guyaux

The Roundabout Theatre Company staging of Yakov Smirnoff's one-man show As Long As We Both Shall Laugh opens April 7 at the American Airlines Theatre.

The production which began performances Feb. 23 recently extended its run through May 26.

Smirnoff, the man who made the phrase "What a Country!" part of the vernacular in the late '80s with the television show of the same name, stars in As Long as We Both Shall Laugh. Now that the cold war is over, his Russia vs. America material has been dropped to focus on the differences between men and women.

David Hirschi is the creative producer and Jeffrey Sweet, Jimmy Brogan and Buzz Nutley serve as creative consultants to the production. The design team includes Eric Renschler (scenic consultant), Mike Baldassari (lighting), Robin L. McGee (costume) and Fitz Patton (sound). Choreography is handled by Jennifer Werner.

The show runs on a Sunday and Monday night schedule — the off-nights for the Roundabout Theatre Company's current A Day in the Death of Joe Egg.

Smirnoff (born Yakov Naumovich Pokhis) became an American citizen on July 4, 1986 at the Statue of Liberty. Coming to America in 1977 — with only his parents and under $100 to his name — the comedian went on to perform on "The Tonight Show," in the aforementioned sitcom and in such films as "Moscow on the Hudson," "Brewster's Millions" and "The Money Pit."

Tickets to As Long As We Both Shall Laugh are available at (212) 719-1300 or at the American Airlines Theatre box office, 227 West 42nd Street. For further information, visit www.yakov.com or www.roundabouttheatre.org.