Geva has treated Neil Simon awfully
well in its now-complete trilogy of Simon’s autobiographical “BB-plays,” Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, and Broadway Bound. The last is the best, because the script and
characters, as well as the actors, director and designers, have all matured and
grown in the process.
Biloxi took Eugene Morris Jerome to World War II. Now, in Broadway Bound, he returns to his parents’ home in Brighton Beach, New
York, and actually in some ways reverts to the innocence of his pre-army self.
But he is a wiser and even more dryly funny observer, and the family situation
is now darker and more complex: trouble is brewing with Eugene’s parents and
grandparents, and he and his brother Stan are getting ready to leave the nest.
Theater
artists seldom get such a rich opportunity to develop roles and interactions.
Geva’s cast fortunately returns intact to re-create their earlier roles in the
first play, and the setting is basically the same with only subtle changes that
show that we have moved from 1937 to 1949. Of course, Dennis Staroselsky didn’t
really seem to be only 15 in Brighton
Beach Memoirs, and none of the characters seem to have aged quite 12 years.
But, given how fine in the first case were both Simon’s work and Geva’s
treatment, it is hard to say who has developed the most in this golden finale.
Director Tim Ocel doesn’t lose an
iota of the play’s warm comedy, but his approach to this decidedly darker play
is more realistically rueful than earlier versions I remember. We lose no
affection for these continuing characters, and, despite their arguments and
breakups, they retain much love for each other. But there are only two left in
the family home at the play’s end.
Grandpa Ben (new in the house in this
play) will not give up his politics, habits, and New York ties to move with his
(unseen) ailing wife to Florida. Jack, the father, takes up with another woman
and eventually leaves his family and home. Brothers Stan and Eugene are about
to move to Manhattan, where they have found work as comedy writers.
Aunt Blanche, no longer a needy
boarder, has married an exceptionally wealthy man and is now an elegant
visitor, but still in need of loving acceptance. Mother Kate is facing the loss
not only of her husband, but even more seriously, of anyone to clean, cook, and
care for — the actions by which she defines her very existence.
That all this remains funny and
heartwarming is a measure of Simon’s deepening talent in this play; and Geva’s
production is more than worthy of it. All the designers and supporting artists
work at top level. A fine veteran of other Geva productions, David Silberman
joins the cast to create a Ben who seems to have been an essential family
member all along. Barbara Sims is awfully glamorous as the newly rich Aunt
Blanche but touching in Blanche’s appeals to her father.
Bryant Richards’ Stan is amusingly
fussy and domineering as Eugene’s guide to professional writing, but makes a
shattering, potent moment of finally criticizing his father’s infidelity
without any hint of overemphasis. Mitchell Greenberg seems so entirely invested
in the character of Jack that he commands our belief and even affection while
honestly portraying that unhappy man’s weaknesses and insensitivities. And Lori
Wilner as the ultimate Jewish mother, Kate, creates a kaleidoscopic picture of
a very real, complex woman whom any audience will find both aggravating and
lovable. Her scene re-creating Kate’s youthful moment dancing with movie star
George Raft is a treasure.
Finally, Dennis Staroselsky has
become as good in the role as anyone who has played Eugene. He handles the
extra tour de force assignment of playing most of Act Two with a stopped up
nose by adopting a “code id da heb” accent that is comic but still allows for
honest emotion.
Even if you
missed the first two plays, Broadway
Bound is a must-see theatrical experience. I expect the run to be extended
but still hard to get tickets to.
Broadway Boundby Neil Simon, directed by Tim Ocel, plays Tuesdays
through Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 4 and 8:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 and 7:30
p.m., through October 3 at Geva Theatre
Center, 75 Woodbury Boulevard. $12.50 to $48.50. 232-4382, www.gevatheatre.org
This article appears in Sep 22-28, 2004.
