Spring Break
Theatre production 'Memoirs' makes comedy out of depression
Courtney Bruner/Verge Reporter
Issue date: 2/27/09 Section: The Verge
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The walls look old and uncared for.
The furniture in the living room and dining room does not match and shows its age.
The family that lives in the house is too large for it.
Everyone must share the few rooms the house has.
But, they cannot live alone.
It is the 1930s, and the family must do anything it can to survive.
This is the setting for Eastern's theater production of Neil Simon's "Brighton Beach Memoirs."
"Brighton Beach Memoirs" is a coming-of-age story about a boy and his family during the Great Depression, said Jerry Eisenhour, director of the play and a theatre arts professor at Eastern.
The play follows 15-year-old Eugene Jerome (played by Josh Anderson) and his family through a hard time.
Along with his parents, Kate and Jack (Elizabeth Powers and Rob Browy respectively), and his brother, Stanley (Brian McElligot), they take in Kate's sister Blanche (Bailey Murphy) and nieces Nora and Laurie (Caitlin Carroll and Caitlin Bieda respectively) after Blanche's husband dies.
The family must live together to support each other, but, like any family, it causes problems and fights among them.
However, they do love each other, Eisenhour said.
All the characters learn to be with each other and grow up as they help one another.
"It's ultimately happy, and it's ultimately sad," Eisenhour said.
"It's so much like everyone's family," he said. "It's like 'Wow, that's my family.'"
Eisenhour picked this play because the parts are difficult to play.
Most of the actors must play parts that are of a different age group than themselves. They must work hard to convey this.
"How do you play someone who is 45-years-old when you're in your 20s?" Eisenhour said.
The set for the play is the house in which the family lives.
Designed by Nick Shaw, it has an upstairs and plenty of mismatched, "old" furniture.
"It has to be in the 1930s," Eisenhour said.
Eisenhour said this is a good play for today even though it is based in the 1930s.
"We are going through similar things right now," he said. "We all understand that. We all understand families."
"Brighton Beach Memoirs" will be performed Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. and Tuesday and Wednesday at 7p.m. in the theater wing of the Dounda Fine Arts Center.
Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $5 for students.
Tickets can be bought at the door or can be reserved by calling 581-3110.
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