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Third in Neil Simon trilogy debuts at Dreamweavers
Thursday, October 26, 2006
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Saturday night at Dreamweavers Theatre, the last of Neil Simon’s autobiographical trilogy, “Broadway Bound,” played to a full house.

Also known as Eugene’s Trilogy, the plot is about a young man and his older brother, Stanley, in post-World War II Brooklyn, dealing with their parents’ relationship, which is falling apart.
We were introduced to the Jerome family in “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” which Dreamweavers produced in 2004, directed by Sharon Rogers. Set in 1937, the family was living in Brighton Beach, where Eugene, a witty and likable kid, bore the scars of being a New York Yankees fan, a cardinal sin in the Borough of Kings.

His induction into the Army towards the end of World War II and the 10 weeks of hell he endured during basic training in Biloxi, Miss., in 1945 formed the plot for the second play in Simon’s trilogy — Jewish recruits from Brooklyn didn’t play well with southern drill sergeants in those days. Dreamweavers presented “Biloxi Blues” in 2005.
Eugene survived it all, and back home in Brighton Beach in 1948, he and his older brother Stanley realize their dad, Jack, is cheating on their mom, Kate. It’s obvious to the family before Jack ever admits it that things are changing — not for the better. Jack is going through his “midlife crisis” — something we guys all went through before we ever heard the term and realized there was such a thing.

Throughout the evening, the audience was introduced to half a dozen marvelous actors as the bittersweet tale unfolded, and through laughs and a few tears, we gave the troupe well-earned hurrahs.
Barbara Nemko was marvelous as Mama Kate who bravely carries on while the only world she’s ever known is crumbling around her. Her “real life” husband, Marty Nemko, fit the part of her beleaguered, guilt-ridden and torn husband, Jack Jerome perfectly: A good man, a hard-working man, yet a man who couldn’t veer off the course he was taking.

Grandpa Ben, the Socialist, played by Bob Dougherty, added a touch of wisdom, a touch of old school Jewish philosophy and humor. He also had the part of an elderly man down pat right, down to his tremors and shakes.

Gwennyth Trice played Kate’s younger sister, Blanche, married to a man who suddenly got rich and then just as suddenly died, making her an affluent widow. Trice clearly demonstrated Blanche’s burning desire was to win the love and respect of her father who rarely, if ever, praised her.

Last but not least were the boys, brothers Trevor Wright as older brother Stan, and Jonathan Grout as kid brother Eugene. Both fit their roles like a glove. Working together, aspiring to become comedy writers. Stan has grand ideas but not enough discipline to sit down and write, while the talented Eugene, with a genius with his “one liners,” gets them on CBS radio’s payroll, writing for the popular Phil Silvers Show and earning more money than they ever thought possible.

The production, directed by Carla Poggenmeyer, was first rate, and several extraordinary scenes I will long remember:

• Eugene finally persuading his always “too busy” mother to dance with him in their parlor. As the radio played Big Band music, mom and son danced, she told him how years ago in a Brooklyn ballroom, the great film star George Raft — “a man who could dance like a dream” — danced with her, and she wasn’t just dreaming.

• Dad confessing his wanderings with a woman who would soon die — as his sons try to fathom Dad’s mind.

• Dad berating his sons for bringing the Jerome family into their comedic CBS skits heard in every home in Brighton Beach. Little did Dad know that the copy Eugene wrote fit every family in Brooklyn — just knock on any door.

Finally, in a moving soliloquy, Grout, who very much reminded me of a young Alan Alda both in appearance and in delivery, summed up the fortunes of the family: Grandpa Ben finally left the cold and snows of New York winters and rejoined his wife in Florida near his rich daughter, Blanche. Brother Stan found success in business, not necessarily writing. Father Jack buried his lady friend and two years later married another woman. And Mama Kate stayed in her Brighton Beach home in Brooklyn, alone, but with a lifetime of memories to keep her company. Eugene closed his soliloquy with, “Dad never did come home, and Mom never left. Love stories don’t always have a happy ending.”

“Broadway Bound” will run at Dreamweavers through Nov. 18 at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are $18 for adults and $15 for students, military and seniors 60 and older. For information, call 255-LIVE or visit www.dreamweaverstheatre.org.
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