Brighton Beach Memoirs

Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983), a play in two acts by Neil Simon. [Alvin Theatre, 1,299 perf.; NYDCC Award.] Eugene Jerome (Matthew Broderick), an ambitious, somewhat starry‐eyed teenager who wants to be a writer, lives with his extended Jewish family in a lower‐middle‐class home that is filled with tension. His father, Jack (Peter Michael Goetz), works as a cutter in the garment trade, and his long, hard hours have wearied him. His mother, Kate (Elizabeth Franz), and her sister, Blanche (Joyce Van Patten), have harbored age‐old angers that finally explode. But Eugene also has some assets, such as an ability to see through life's short‐range problems and view matters with a cutting wit. Most problems do, in fact, seem to work themselves out for the Jeromes and there is every reason to believe Eugene will realize his ambition. An admittedly autobiographical work, many critics hailed the comedy as a move away from the wisecracking formula plays that Simon had previously offered. He continued the tale with BILOXI BLUES (1985), which ran at the Neil Simon Theatre for 524 performances. Drafted into the army, Eugene (Broderick) resolutely continues to hone his writing skills by keeping a notebook commenting on his fellow draftees and his army life. He also resolves to stay alive and to lose his virginity. He succeeds at both, despite the comic contretemps his notes and his young lusts create. The second play in Simon's semi‐autobiographical trilogy won the Tony Award, though it was slightly less popular than the others, yet it is probably the best written of the three works. BROADWAY BOUND (1986) completed the tale, with grown‐up Eugene (Jonathan Silverman) and his brother Stanley (Jason Alexander) pushing hard to become writers of comedy for radio. Yet their home life is often unfunny: their father (Philip Sterling) is planning to desert their mother (Linda Lavin) and their maternal grandfather (John Randolph) has become incontinent and refuses to live with his richer daughter (Phyllis Newman), a move that would go against his Trotskyite beliefs. Eugene is also courting a girl who is engaged to another man. Luckily, Eugene can see humor in all of this, even when things don't turn out in fairy‐tale fashion. On the strength of good reviews and Lavin's Tony‐winning performance, Broadway Bound ran 756 performances in the Broadhurst Theatre. The trilogy, produced by Emanuel Azenberg, marked a resurgence in Simon's popularity on Broadway after a long fallow period.

Neil Simon 1983

Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs is one of his most widely respected plays. Simon earned kudos for what many critics consider the best example of his efforts to combine his trademark humor with a level of drama and character introspection. Brighton Beach Memoirs was first produced at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles on December 10, 1982. It debuted on Broadway on March 27, 1983, at the Alvin Theatre. Like many of Simon’s successes, Brighton Beach Memoirs enjoyed a lengthy run and financial success. The play won Simon the New York Drama Critics Circle Prize for Best Play.

Critics attributed much of the success of Brighton Beach Memoirs to Simon’s newfound sophistication. Before this play, Simon had a long career of successful plays that were either comic or serious. His previous attempts to combine the two rarely impressed critics or audiences. Critics praised Brighton Beach for its deft characterizations and meaningful humor. Some attribute this to the fact that Simon knew his material well. Though not strictly autobiographical, Simon based the play on his memories of growing up in New York City in the years just before World War II. Despite the play’s success, some critics found Brighton Beach Memoirs superficial, comparing it to a soap opera, albeit one with good jokes.

The success of Brighton Beach Memoirs led to two more plays featuring protagonist Eugene Jerome and his family, 1985’s Biloxi Blues, which dealt with Eugene’s armed service years, and 1986’s Broadway Bound. Each of these plays received more positive reviews and contained more extensive autobiographical material than Brighton Beach Memoirs. With the success of this trilogy, Simon’s reputation as a premiere American playwright was cemented.

Brighton Beach Memoirs
Original Playbill
Written by	Neil Simon
Date premiered	March 22, 1983
Place premiered	Alvin Theatre
Original language	English
Genre	Comedy
IBDB profile

Brighton Beach Memoirs is a semi-autobiographical play by Neil Simon, the first chapter in what his known as his Eugene Trilogy. It precedes Biloxi Blues and Broadway Bound.

Contents 1 Characters 2 Opening Night Cast 3 Act summaries 4 Summary 5 Movie Adaptation 6 Broadway Revival 7 Awards and nominations 8 External links

Characters

• Eugene Morris Jerome, almost 15
• Blanche Morton, 38
• Kate Jerome, about 40
• Laurie Morton, 13
• Nora Morton, 16 1/2
• Stanley Jerome, 18 1/2
• Jack Jerome, about 40

Opening Night Cast

• Eugene Jerome-Matthew Broderick
• Kate Jerome-Elizabeth Franz
• Jack Jerome-Peter Michael Goetz
• Laurie Morton-Mandy Ingber
• Stanley Jerome-Željko Ivanek
• Nora Morton-Jodi Thelen
• Blanche Morton-Joyce Van Patten

Act summaries

Act 1: Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York, September 1937, 6:30 PM
Act 2: Wednesday, a week later, about 6:30 in the evening

Summary

Set in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn, New York in 1937, the coming-of-age comedy focuses on Eugene Morris Jerome, a Polish-Jewish teenager who experiences puberty, sexual awakening, and a search for identity as he tries to deal with his family, including his older brother Stanley, his parents Kate and Jack, as well as Kate's sister Blanche and her two daughters, Nora and Laurie.

Movie Adaptation

Simon and Saks reteamed for the 1986 film version which starred Jonathan Silverman as Eugene, Margulies, Blythe Danner as Kate, Judith Ivey, Bob Dishy, Stacey Glick as Laurie, and Fyvush Finkel.

Broadway Revival

A Broadway revival, directed by David Cromer, opened on October 25, 2009, at the Nederlander Theatre. Headlining the show are Laurie Metcalf as Kate Jerome and Dennis Boutsikaris as Jack Jerome, with Santino Fontana as Stanley Jerome, Jessica Hecht as Blanche, Gracie Bea Lawrence as Laurie, Noah Robbins as Eugene, Alexandra Socha as Nora.

The production was planned to run in repertory with Broadway Bound, which was to feature the same cast with the exception of Josh Grisetti, who was to assume the role of the "older" Eugene (played by Noah Robbins in the earlier play) and Allan Miller in the role of Ben. The two plays were produced and promoted as "The Neil Simon Plays". Despite generally positive reviews from New York critics, Brighton Beach Memoirs closed on November 1, 2009 due to weak ticket sales. Subsequently, the planned production of Broadway Bound was cancelled.

Awards and nominations

• Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play (Broderick, winner; Ivanek, nominee)
• Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play (Franz, nominee)
• Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play (winner)
• Theatre World Award (Broderick, winner)
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play (nominee)
• Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play (Broderick, nominee)
• New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play (winner)

External links

• Internet Broadway Database listing
• Internet Movie Database listing
• Brighton Beach Memoirs at ThatTheatreSite
• 2009 Broadway Revival Official Website

v • d • e Neil Simon Plays Come Blow Your Horn (1961) · Barefoot in the Park (1963) · The Odd Couple (1965) · The Star-Spangled Girl (1966) · Plaza Suite (1968) · The Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1969) · The Gingerbread Lady (1970) · The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1971) · The Sunshine Boys (1972) · The Good Doctor (1973) · God's Favorite (1974) · California Suite (1976) · Chapter Two (1977) · I Ought to Be in Pictures (1980) · Fools (1981) · The Odd Couple (female version) (1981) · Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983)  · Biloxi Blues (1985)  · Broadway Bound (1986)  · Rumors (1988) · Lost in Yonkers (1991) · Jake's Women (1992) · Laughter on the 23rd Floor (1993) · London Suite (1995) · Proposals (1997) · The Dinner Party (2000) · 45 Seconds from Broadway (2001) · Rose's Dilemma (2003)  · Oscar and Felix: A New Look at the Odd Couple (2004) Musicals Little Me (1962) · Sweet Charity (1966) · Promises, Promises (1968) · They're Playing Our Song (1979) · The Goodbye Girl (1993)

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)