Ocean State Theatre Company has wisely enlisted Trinity’s Fred Sullivan Jr. to play the Sid Caesar clone Max Prince in their production of Neil Simon’s “Laughter on the 23rd Floor.”

If you are a Simon fan, you’ll enjoy the fast and furious (sometimes too fast and furious) one-liners spewed by the writers of the hour and a half Max Prince Show as they gather in the writer’s room to argue, fight and kibbitz.

The comedy starts slowly, as the Simon-like character Lucas (Matt DaSilva) sets the stage for the play, which takes place in 1953 during the “Golden Years of TV” and the McCarthy Communist hunt.

We are introduced to the writers: Jean-Pierre Ferragamo plays Milt, the beret-wearing egotist; Mark S. Cartier is Val, the Russian; Tom Andrew is Brian, who dreams of becoming a Hollywood writer; Tommy Labanaris is Ira the hypochondriac; Amiee Turner is the only woman writer on the team; Tyler Fish is Kenny who is overpowering; Erin Fish plays the secretary. The play doesn’t come alive until Fred Sullivan Jr. comes bounding through the door, causing uncontrolled laughter with every gesture and outburst. This guy makes you laugh without saying a word, but when he does you laugh even louder.

The plot is thin, relying on dumb jokes thrown out in rapid succession, along with physical humor galore.

While not a huge Neil Simon fan, I must admit that I was in the minority, as the opening night audience laughed long and loud throughout the two-act play.

“Did you see Edward R. Murrow last night?”

“No, I don’t live in his neighborhood.”

That’s the type of humor Simon throws at you.

There are references to the McCarthy hearings, the Jewish influence on humor, the dumbing down of television shows, and the importance of TV ratings. NBC cut Max’s 90-minute show to an hour and then eliminated one of his writers. When it became obvious that Max’s (Caesar’s) humor was a bit too sophisticated for NBC, the show ended and they all went their separate ways, giving us a poignant conclusion.

While this is not my favorite comedy, I highly recommend it for one big reason: Fred Sullivan Jr. The man, like Sid Caesar, is a comic genius. He knows how to take a simple scene and turn it into a classic. One short moment involving the ever-present cigar in his mouth had us all laughing uncontrollably.

Sullivan told me that he has performed and/or directed in all four Rhode Island theatres (Trinity, Gamm, 2nd Story and Ocean State), which is quite an accomplishment for his 30-year Trinity career. (Forget PPAC, Fred. That would take you on the road and away from Rhode Island).

If you are in the mood for lots of laughs, even though many of them are groaners, get over to Ocean State Theatre Company’s Jefferson Boulevard theatre, where there’s not a bad seat in the house.

“Laughter on the 23rd Floor” plays through Feb. 16. Tickets are $39-$49. Call 921-6800 for reservations.