Brighton Beach Memoirs
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| "Brighton Beach Memoirs" | |
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 Original Playbill |
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| 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 is known as his Eugene trilogy. It precedes Biloxi Blues and Broadway Bound.
Contents |
[edit] Characters
- Eugene Morris Jerome, almost 15
- Blanche Morton, 38: Eugene's widowed aunt
- Kate Jerome, about 40: Eugene's mother, a strong Jewish matriarch
- Laurie Morton, 13: Eugene's younger cousin
- Nora Morton, 16½: Eugene's beautiful older cousin
- Stanley Jerome, 18½: Eugene's older brother
- Jack Jerome, about 40: Eugene's father
[edit] 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
[edit] 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
[edit] Summary
Set in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn, New York in 1937, this coming-of-age comedy focuses on Eugene Morris Jerome, a Polish-Jewish American 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, and Kate's sister Blanche and her two daughters, Nora and Laurie, who come to live there after their father's death .
[edit] Film adaptation
The play was adapted into a movie in 1986 directed by Gene Saks and starring Jonathan Silverman.[1]
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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)
[edit] External links
- Internet Broadway Database listing
- Internet Movie Database listing
- Brighton Beach Memoirs at ThatTheatreSite
- 2009 Broadway Revival Official Website
[edit] References
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