Brighton Beach Memoirs

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Set in Brooklyn, New York's Brighton Beach in 1937, the semi-autobiographical coming-of-age comedy is the first play in what is known as Simon's "Eugene Trilogy." The small cast consists of Eugene, his brother Stanley and their parents Kate and Jack, as well as Kate's sister Blanche, and her two daughters, Nora and Laurie. His protagonist is Eugene Morris Jerome, a Russian-Jewish teenager who experiences puberty, sexual awakening, and a search for identity as he tries to deal with his family, including his older brother Stanley, whom he idolizes and his cousin Nora whom he develops intimate feelings towards. Kate and Blanche also develop through the play, as Blanche finally decides to support herself following a fight with Kate.

After seven previews, the Broadway production, directed by Gene Saks, opened on March 27, 1983 at the Alvin Theatre (renamed after Simon three months later), where it ran for nearly two years before transferring to the 46th Street Theatre to complete its 1299-performance run. The opening night cast included Matthew Broderick, Elizabeth Franz, Peter Michael Goetz, Željko Ivanek, and Joyce Van Patten. Jon Cryer, Fisher Stevens, Robert Sean Leonard, and Jonathan Silverman successively played Eugene following Broderick's departure. Replacements in other roles included David Margulies, Anita Gillette, Dick Latessa, and Elizabeth Perkins.

Simon and Saks reteamed for the 1986 film version, which starred Silverman, Margulies, Blythe Danner, Judith Ivey, Bob Dishy, and Fyvush Finkel.

Awards and nominations

*Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play (Broderick, winner; Ivanek, nominee)
*Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play (Franz, nominee)
*Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play (winner)
*Theatre World Award (Broderick, winner)
*Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play (nominee)
*Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play (Broderick, nominee)
*New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play (winner)

External links

* [http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=4212 Internet Broadway Database listing]
* [http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0090774/ Internet Movie Database listing]
* [http://thattheatresite.com/library/showpages/show_493.html "Brighton Beach Memoirs" at ThatTheatreSite]