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.
Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays.
The play is set in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn, New York in September 1937. It is a comedy focused 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, Kate's sister Blanche, and her two daughters, Nora and Laurie, who come to live there after their father's death. Jack's health suffers as he works two jobs to support the extended family. Stanley faces problems with his own job, when he stands up to his somewhat tyrannical boss; cousin Nora, whom Eugene has a crush on, is eager to be a paid dancer in a Broadway musical, though the family's circumstances do not allow it; and the younger cousin Laurie has heart problems and is a source of annoyance for Eugene.
This is a study of the various relationships within families, between the siblings (Eugene and Stanley, Nora and Laurie, and Blanche and Nora). After Kate and Blanche had a major row, Blanche realises the need for self-respect rather than self-pity. And a row between Blanche and Nora also results in a much-improved relationship. During all the ups and downs, Jack is the wise father/uncle who holds the family together. An underlying theme is the need for conversation as otherwise resentments can fester.
Having enjoyed ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs’, we will be reading ‘Rumours’, also by Neil Simon, at our October meeting on Wednesday 4th October, 9.30 am to 12, Classroom 1.
Joy Shirley
Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays.
The play is set in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn, New York in September 1937. It is a comedy focused 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, Kate's sister Blanche, and her two daughters, Nora and Laurie, who come to live there after their father's death. Jack's health suffers as he works two jobs to support the extended family. Stanley faces problems with his own job, when he stands up to his somewhat tyrannical boss; cousin Nora, whom Eugene has a crush on, is eager to be a paid dancer in a Broadway musical, though the family's circumstances do not allow it; and the younger cousin Laurie has heart problems and is a source of annoyance for Eugene.
This is a study of the various relationships within families, between the siblings (Eugene and Stanley, Nora and Laurie, and Blanche and Nora). After Kate and Blanche had a major row, Blanche realises the need for self-respect rather than self-pity. And a row between Blanche and Nora also results in a much-improved relationship. During all the ups and downs, Jack is the wise father/uncle who holds the family together. An underlying theme is the need for conversation as otherwise resentments can fester.
Having enjoyed ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs’, we will be reading ‘Rumours’, also by Neil Simon, at our October meeting on Wednesday 4th October, 9.30 am to 12, Classroom 1.
Joy Shirley
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