Photo by Josh Shub-Seltzer
by Jessica Tharaud
Directed by seniors Peter Diamond and Elena Rodriguez, “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” explores family dynamic in the midst of the Great Depression, and will run Nov. 6 to 8 at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium.
The play details the struggles of the Jerome family, a middle-class Jewish family living in New York. Fifteen-year-old Eugene Morris Jerome, played by freshman Evyatar Gershon, is the central character. He obsesses over baseball and has a crush on his cousin Nora.
Written by Neil Simon, “Brighton Beach Memoirs” is the first of a semi-autobiographical trilogy that ran on Broadway from 1983 to 1986 that featured actor Matthew Broderick as Jerome.
According to Rodriguez, family members deal with “universal problems” that many families face, particularly emotional and financial issues. The father of the family, Jack Jerome, played by freshman Jonathan Champion, becomes ill after overworking himself at two jobs to support the family.
“Whether it’s the quiet observant little sister of the family, or the loud, impulsive, older brother, it’s easy to find someone in the Jerome family that audience members can empathize with,” added Rodriguez.
Champion found the play to be compelling because of the way the “characters fit together to make a believable, loving family.”
Added Champion, “This is a show anyone can laugh . . . and cry with.”
Tickets are $7 and are sold at all lunches and on Theatre Ink’s website.