Brighton Beach Memoirs at Valparaiso University - University Theatre

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2. Brighton Beach Memoirs

Authors

• Neil Simon

Set in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn, New York in September 1937, this coming of age comedy focuses, thru the eyes of its narrator, 15-year old Eugene Morris Jerome, writer-to-be and alternately perplexed and perceptive observer and guide, on life with the Jerome family. Eugene is a Polish Jewish American teenager who experiences puberty, sexual awakening and a search for identity as he tries to deal with his Depression-era family. Eugene, his parents, Kate and Jack, and his brother Stanley have shared their home for the last three years with Kate's sister Blanche and her two daughters Nora and Laurie since the death of their father. This extended family is troubled by illness, unemployment, poverty, deep resentments and foreboding signs of World War II, but as portrayed by Neil Simon, their lives are neither miserable or pitiful. The family meets their challenges with innocence, dignity, warmth, vigor and spirit, showing that life, at once humorous and poignant, is something to celebrate by all. "Simultaneously poignant and funny. An outstanding show!" - Variety. "A hilarious comedy... A delightful and enriching experience." -CBS-TV