Review: From One Sandy Shore to Another, Neil Simon's Journey Triumphs at APA

Imagine that you are a fifteen year old living in the midst of the Great Depression, living in tight quarters with both your immediate family and a few relatives, with every dollar earned considered precious and vital to getting through each passing day. If this were the case for any of us, it would be difficult to think of anything else except the awful plight that fate seems to have bestowed upon a rather undeserving group of people - a plight that involves all those who are merely trying to survive. Having this as a reality for anyone would be disheartening enough, but watching such a story unfold on stage in the Academy of Performing Arts' production of Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs is fascinating, as Simon's fairly autobiographical story does not only revolve around the immediate difficulties of the escalating war in Europe and America's current financial situation, but the narrative does a wonderfully heart-wrenching job of making the story of one Brooklyn family so personal. Each member of the family faces his or her own issues, some immediate and some brewing for years, but with each problem is the family ultimately brought together; the journey it collectively takes to get there is what makes this first installment of Simon's trilogy so riveting to watch.

As the first installment of Simon's trilogy (proceeded by Biloxi Blues and Broadway Bound), Director Judy Hamer brings a truly spectacular production of Brighton Beach Memoirs to Cape Cod's Academy of Performing Arts. Not only does she transform the black-box theater with a beautifully detailed set, but her talent as a director shines through by means of how she approached Simon's autobiographical text and made it into something that is as entertaining as it is profound and thought-provoking. Brighton Beach Memoirs is imaginably a difficult text for both actors and the creative team to bring upon a stage, as there is so much going on on both a general and personal level; while the Great Depression is in full swing, each character must battle the war already brewing amidst a family of people who are at odds and ends with their own lives. The number of microcosms that exists in this show is amazing, and for each character to understand how each one works and pertains to the story at hand requires quite a firm understanding of not only the historical aspect of this play, but also how the actors themselves should approach the roles they play. Let me just say that the work everyone involved in APA's production put into making this the production it turned out to be is truly evident, and Neil Simon's life begins to take such a tangible form that it is impossible for audiences not to have at least an inkling of desire to complete the trilogy, even if only by reading the texts.

Brighton Beach Memoirs tells the story of Eugene Morris Jerome, a fifteen year old alive during a time in American history when both a war in Europe was brewing, while at home the Depression was running rampant. Along with his brother Stanley, his mother Kate and his father Jack, he also lives with his Aunt Blanche and his cousins Nora and Laurie (the first to which he has quite the attraction to). While he always feels as though the weight of everyone else's problems somehow always falls on his shoulders, in reality he is the one whom his parents have least cause to worry about. Eugene's brother finds himself potentially unemployed and rather careless with the little money he has managed to save up, his father is unwell, mainly from his responsibility of being the only man in the house who can make any sort of decision for his dependents, and his mother tries to keep the household emotionally coherent. His Aunt is despondent because of her inability to ever leave the home she never wishes to consider her own, and his cousins remain distant because of decisions other people are compelled to make for them. Taking everything that happens into account, Eugene narrates the story of this time of his life, and before he turns his storytelling over to reenactment, he incorporates some of his own humor and feelings into the mix, making him a very likeable and incredibly trustworthy narrator (as many narrators are debatably not).

Now, the audience does not necessarily see the story through his eyes, but is instead given insight into each character with his words, and with the combination of all this does Eugene's story take flight. To quote Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby, he is both "within and without" - a casual observer who is forced to take part in the tragedies occurring around him, with the inability to do much else because of his age and inexperience. It is fascinating watching the actors on stage take on the roles of family members wrought with indecision, sadness and essentially running on the fuel of their survival instinct, but instead of just letting things be bring about their individual personalities and find a way to make a difficult situation even worse. Yet, watching each console the other, thereby bringing the family closer together than it ever, is something beautiful. Especially when humor is added to the mix, there comes from this a show that everyone is bound to not only enjoy, but experience through feeling, acknowledging the fact that we are all human beings, regardless of time or era, and that there will always be trials and tribulations to face, but also ways in which to not only solve them, but mend the inner hurt and pain that consequently exists in the human heart.

Oscar Spiegel as Eugene is wonderful. For someone so young, he is quite the talented actor! During the show, I always looked forward to his character's input on the situation at hand, and he added such animation to his role, even when Eugene wasn't in the best of spirits. Luca Del Deo as Stanley is equally as talented (as I consider the entire cast to be, so forgive me for my repetition), and it was really tragic watching him battle his way through his feelings of guilt and remorse while also trying to make up for it not only to himself, but to his parents, to whom he owes so much. Baylie Hartford as Laurie and Tess LeConey as Nora work together well on stage as sisters, Hartford being very interesting mix of stoic and condescending for someone so young (well done in that respect) and LeConey being so sad when refused a chance of a lifetime but also so forgiving and tender towards her mother in the end.

Tom Crutchfield as Jack is a bundle of emotions on stage, and as the family's patriarch, he is also a tender, caring soul that the audience really appreciates as a character. He plays a character who is supposed to have all the answers but in reality can only offer his advice, and having a role that is supposed to be one thing but really cannot execute that power because of the circumstances of the play is quite difficult to play - stifling, even. I give him much credit for essentially playing the man his family needed him to be, and I very much enjoyed watching his performance.

Allison Atwood as Kate is also one who plays a complex and secretly lovable character, and watching her try to be a mother, sister and aunt all at once, heart-wrenching one moment and funny the next, was incredibly admirable and riveting. Finally, Rachel Hatfield as Blanche, I think, really brought out the epitome of the difficulty people in this family and during this time were facing; if people could be the equivalents of feelings, then I would deem her character as such. She must deal with so much, and she makes the audience question whether or not Blanche is actually able to do this, or if she is just pretending to be strong for the sake of her two daughters. She is helpless at times but then has such a spark in her at others, especially towards the play's end that really makes her one of my favorite characters. It says a lot of the actress who can understand sadness as well as she can joy, and for this I admire everything that Hatfield did on that stage.

All considered, this play is a wonderful way to end the Academy's already stellar summer season, and I am very happy to have been given the chance to see this production. If you happen to be in Orleans, or anywhere on the Cape, please come and see the beauty Hamer has staged with Brighton Beach Memoirs. Performances began on August 26th and will continue thru September 19th. The performance schedule consists of shows Tuesday thru Sunday @ 8:00 PM. Tickets are $22 and can be purchased either at the theater's box office (located at 120 Main Street in Orleans), by calling 508.255.1963 or by visiting http://www.apacape.org/.

Enjoy the show!

Photo Credit: Michael & Suz Karchmer

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