By Dale King
Brighton Beach Memoirs could easily be subtitled Neil Simon’s Family in Crisis. But the playwright didn’t do that. Instead, he crafted a stellar autobiographical drama that melds whimsy with pathos, anger and, ultimately, forgiveness. He takes the time to develop the characters and spotlight their ability to deal with adversity without ripping apart the family bond.
Now playing at the Broward Stage Door Theater, Brighton Beach Memoirs — directed by Dan Kelley — is more than just a slice of Neil Simon’s life. It’s a case study of family life with each member having his or her identity that maintains homeostasis within the household. When the status quo is disrupted, chaos ensues.
In Brighton Beach Memoirs, the young Neil Simon is represented by the character Eugene Morris Jerome (Josh Lerner), the 15-year-old son of housewife Kate (Merry Jo Cortada) and garment cutter Jack (Matthew Korinko). His older brother, Stanley (Alex Salup), works to provide needed income for this cash-strapped family.
Also populating this overcrowded beachside house are Kate’s sister, Blanche Morton (Elizabeth Simmons), who moved in six years earlier when her husband died of cancer (diseases are only whispered about around the house), along with her two kids, Nora (Mary Sansone), now 16, and Laurie (Hannah Wiser), 12.
This troupe of actors is very talented. The ensemble is so stage-savvy that they seem to form an actual family. The audience easily empathizes with the Jeromes and Mortons as the level of their emotions intensifies.
In Brighton Beach Memoirs, Simon moves out of the comfort zone in which he gave us plays such as Barefoot in the Park, Last of the Red Hot Lovers and Plaza Suite. Here, he bares his soul, allowing us to see him in his early, formative years — sassy, yet erudite; cocky, yet easygoing.
The audience quickly sees that Josh Lerner is just right for this part. The soon-to-be junior at American Heritage School in Delray Beach brings a remarkable presence to the stage that is beyond his years. He draws the audience in by communicating with them in the style of a narrator.
Early pubescent Eugene, who seems addicted to the New York Yankees and cousin Nora’s breasts, does more than hint at his intention to become a writer. He is always whipping out a notebook to memorialize a comment, particularly from his mother who spends much of the play yelling, “Eugene!” followed by an order to do one thing or another.
In truth, Simon would go on to write three plays about his early years, the so-called “Eugene Trilogy.” Biloxi Blues, which followed Memoirs, moves Eugene into the war years and Broadway Bound finds him in the post-war era seeking work in Manhattan.
With his laid-back demeanor, ability to bounce back from most troubles and his desire to stay clear of difficulties, Lerner is exceptional as Simon’s alter ego. But every person on stage brings great flair and ability.
As Jack, the hard-working, hard decision-making patriarch of the Jerome family, Korinko is right on the money. A well-heeled performer, he is familiar with Neil Simon’s style, having starred in Rumors in 2012.
Memoirs works best when actors relate one-on-one. Korinko and Salup are engaging when they talk as father and older son. In one particularly poignant exchange, Jack frankly tells Stanley: “There’s nothing you could do that I couldn’t forgive.” This theme is repeated among all the characters as they work through their difficulties.
Cortada and Simmons are perfectly sister-like in this production. Each has a wealth of talent which, when tapped, overflows with gushing emotion. The same goes for Simmons and Sansone, who must resolve considerable mother-daughter woes.
Wiser’s depiction of Laurie is exceptional — and very necessary to the plot. The talented young actress who attends the Donna Klein Jewish Academy in Boca Raton is the “sickly” child, so mom gives her a pass for most chores. Eventually, that changes.
Sansone is quite capable of portraying Nora, a high school student torn between her going-nowhere status quo life and a chance to dance in a Broadway show. Decisions — or a lack of them — set off her moods, which Sansone presents with ease.
This actress has a particularly strong Broward Stage portfolio highlighting her ability to handle vastly different roles. Sansone played the wife of a Polish immigrant in The Immigrant and was outstanding as the European refugee reunited with her Americanized sister and abusive father in A Shayna Maidel.
The set for Brighton Beach Memoirs is an eye-pleasing sight. Designer Sean McLellan has decorated the stage beautifully, using heavy, dark woods in the dining area and old-fashioned furniture (couches with feet, for example) in the living room. There’s a cathedral radio to hint at the era.
This intricately laid-out set has two bedrooms “upstairs” — the children’s quarters, so to speak, the places where the young ones talk, brood, cry, interact and express anger.
McLellan’s addition of clapboard walls on either side of the main set completes the appearance of a neighborhood.
This Simon bio-drama proves that the key to resolution is reconciliation, holding true to love and family ties. It is populated with folks whose faults, fears and pent-up feelings are often ready to burst. The play implies that bursting is a necessary and cleansing catharsis.
Brighton Beach Memoirs is playing through June 30 at the Broward Stage Door Theatre, 8036 W. Sample Road, Coral Springs. For tickets, call 954-344-7765. The summer schedule concludes with Character Man, starring Jim Brochu, July 12-Aug. 11.