COURTROOM COMEBACK

NBC'S 'NIGHT COURT' RETURNS WITH MARLBORO NATIVE MELISSA RAUCH ON THE BENCH

- LAURA ADAMS STIANSEN

The new ‘Night Court’ includes a cast of likable characters, including assistant district attorney Olivia Moore (played by India de Beaufort), court clerk Neil (Kapil Talwalkar), bailiff Donna 'Gurgs' Gurganous (Lacretta), and Dan Fielding (John Larroquette), who steps back into court as its public defender.

Taking on a role in the revival of a classic sitcom series can be intimidating, but Marlboro native Melissa Rauch feels honored to play the daughter of “Night Court” Judge Harry Stone, who “holds such a special place in my heart as one of the TV sitcom greats,” she said.

Rauch, a fan of the original, revisited the NBC series that aired from 1984–1992 to get “some of the cadence and rhythms” in her head as she prepared for her role as Judge Abby Stone, an optimist with a passion for justice who has taken over the seat that her late father had once filled during the night shift of a Manhattan arraignment court. Rauch joked that she hit the gym to work out her forearm — hard — to build up her gaveling strength.