THE NEIL SIMON PLAYS Featured In The New York Times, NYTimes.com and Newsday

THE Neil Simon PLAYS are the first Broadway revivals of two of Neil Simon's beloved Eugene Morris Jerome plays, Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound, directed by David Cromer. Brighton Beach Memoirs opened last night at the Nederlander Theatre (208 West 41st Street). Broadway Bound joins Brighton Beach Memoirs in repertory on November 18, with opening night on Thursday, December 10.

THE Neil Simon PLAYS have been making headlines lately:

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Are They Laughing? Are They Moved?

By Patrick Healy

October 25, 2009

Mr. Simon's attachment to "Brighton Beach Memoirs" and "Broadway Bound" comes naturally. The sons of the Jerome family, Eugene and Stanley, are stand-ins for Mr. Simon and his brother, Danny; in both the plays and real life the brothers became a comedy-writing team. (The Simons wrote for Sid Caesar's "Your Show of Shows.") But in "Brighton Beach Memoirs" and to a lesser extent in "Broadway Bound," the father, Jack, is a far more loving version of Mr. Simon's father, Irving, who frequently abandoned the family and was unfaithful to his wife, Mamie (Kate in the plays). The Jeromes have the sort of marriage in "Brighton Beach" that Mr. Simon said he wished his parents had.

To read the complete interview, click on the following link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/25/theater/25healy.html?_r=1&em

NYTIMES.COM

Audio slideshow by Erik Piepenburg

October 26, 2009

Jessica Hecht talks about a family member who inspires her performance in the revival of "Brighton Beach Memoirs."

Click on the link to view the audio slideshow:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/10/26/theater/20091026-jessica-hecht-brighton-beach-memoirs-multimedia/index.html?ref=theater

NEWSDAY

A look at Neil Simon as two of his plays hit Broadway

By Linda Winer

October 25, 2009

"Brighton Beach Memoirs," the first of what was to become Neil Simon's coming-of-age trilogy, opens Sunday night at the Nederlander Theatre. "Broadway Bound," written in 1986, opens Dec. 10, after which the two will be ambitiously presented in repertory. David Cromer, the acclaimed young Chicago director responsible for the stunning "Our Town," is staging both plays - the first, the story of a Brooklyn teen named Eugene (originally Matthew Broderick) in the '30s, the other about his return home in the late '40s after World War II. Noah Robbins now plays Eugene at 15, Josh Grisetti, the Eugene at 23. Laurie Metcalf plays his mother in both.

To read the complete feature, click on the following link:

http://www.newsday.com/columnists/linda-winer/a-look-at-neil-simon-as-two-of-his-plays-hit-broadway-1.1541663

BERGEN RECORD
From high school stage to Broadway lead role

By Robert Feldberg

October 25, 2009

A funny thing happened to Noah Robbins on the way to college. He got the lead in a Broadway show.

Robbins just turned 19, but looks around 15 - which is good, since that's the age of the character he plays in "Brighton Beach Memoirs," which opens today at the Nederlander Theatre.

To read the complete interview, click on the following link:

http://www.northjersey.com/columnists/From_high_school_stage_to_Broadway_lead_role.html

THE Neil Simon PLAYS are the first Broadway revivals of two of Neil Simon's beloved Eugene Morris Jerome plays, Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound, directed by David Cromer.

Brighton Beach Memoirs began previews on October 2 and opened Sunday, October 25. Broadway Bound begins previews on Wednesday, November 18 and opens Thursday, December 10. Starting on November 18, the two plays will be performed in repertory on a varied schedule at the Nederlander Theatre (208 West 41st Street).

Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound were two of the longest running Broadway plays of the 1980s. The works ushered in a new era of appreciation for Neil Simon, with praise for the playwright's hilarious and poignant account of his adolescence, early career and family life in New York in the 1930s and 1940s.

Brighton Beach Memoirs originally opened on March 27, 1983 at the Alvin Theatre and played for 1,299 performances. (During the run of Brighton Beach Memoirs, the Alvin Theatre was renamed The Neil Simon Theatre). Broadway Bound opened on December 4, 1986 at the Broadhurst Theatre, where it played for 756 performances.

Brighton Beach Memoirs stars Laurie Metcalf (Kate Jerome) and Dennis Boutsikaris (Jack Jerome) with Santino Fontana (Stanley Jerome), Jessica Hecht (Blanche), Gracie Bea Lawrence (Laurie), Noah Robbins (Eugene Jerome) and Alexandra Socha (Nora).

Broadway Bound stars Laurie Metcalf (Kate Jerome) and Dennis Boutsikaris (Jack Jerome) with Santino Fontana (Stanley Jerome), Jessica Hecht (Blanche), Josh Grisetti (Eugene Jerome) and Allan Miller (Ben).

Brighton Beach Memoirs centers on young Jewish teen Eugene Morris Jerome and his extended family living in a crowded home in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn in the late 1930s: his overworked father, Jack; overbearing mother, Kate; his older brother Stanley; Kate's widowed sister Blanche and her daughters, Nora and Laurie. As Eugene spends his time daydreaming about a baseball career, he must also cope with his family's troubles, his awkward discovery of the opposite sex and his developing identity as a writer.

In Broadway Bound, it's the late 1940s and Eugene and Stanley have started their careers as professional comedy writers. But when the brothers use their home life in Brighton Beach as inspiration for a radio comedy skit, the Jerome family may never be the same.

Scenic design is by John Lee Beatty, costume design is by Jane Greenwood, lighting design is by Brian MacDevitt and sound design is by Josh Schmidt and Fitz Patton. Hair and wig design is by Tom Watson.

THE Neil Simon PLAYS are produced by Ira Pittelman, Max Cooper, Jeffrey Sine, Scott Delman, Ruth Hendel, Roy Furman, Ben Sprecher/Wendy Federman, Scott Landis and Emanuel Azenberg.

THE Neil Simon PLAYS will be performed in repertory on a varied schedule. Tickets are available at www.TicketMaster.com or 212-307-4100.

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