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—Production poster BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS "I'll never make it with the Yankees. All the great Yankees are Italian. My mother makes spaghetti with ketchup - what chance do I have?" – Eugene Jerome BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS by Neil Simon Directed by Rita Price, Brighton Beach Memoirs is Simon’s hilarious semi-autobiographical portrait of a Jewish-American family as seen through the eyes of a 15-year-old boy, Eugene Morris Jerome. In post-depression, pre-war-era Brooklyn, the most pressing thoughts on the mind of Neil Simon’s protagonist are baseball and girls. Living with six other family members under one roof doesn’t afford young Eugene much privacy, but it does provide him with plenty of ammunition for his nascent career as a writer. In excerpts from his journal, he introduces his over-worked father, his under-appreciated mother, his comparatively worldly older brother Stanley, his cousins Nora (the beautiful star-in-training) and Laurie (the pampered bookworm), and his widowed, asthmatic Aunt Blanche. The resulting coming-of-age story is an affectionate, thoroughly entertaining lesson in overcoming hard times with warmth and humour. In 2010 we have computers, cell phones, microwaves and flat screen TVs so a person might ask, "what do we have in common with those who lived in 1937 during a depression?" Director Rita Price says, "The answer is simple. What we have does not make us what we are. As humans we all have dreams, hopes, problems, disappointments and uncertainties and a strong desire to protect and do what is right for our family." Metro Theatre's production of Brighton Beach Memoirs will feature a talented local cast that includes Cormac O'Dwyer as Eugene Jerome, Josh Zumstien as Stanley Jerome, Gina Raye Young as Kate Jerome, Emanual Fappas as Jack Jerome, Melanie Preston as Aunt Blanche, Paige Dean as Cousin Nora, and Elizabeth Holliday as Cousin Laurie.
Metro Theatre will present Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs Saturday, August 28 with a 2 for $27.00 preview on Friday, August 27, and will run Thurs – Sat until Sept 25, 2010. The theatre is located at 1370 SW Marine Drive. Free parking is available next to the theatre, on the street and at the Fraser Arms Hotel. To order tickets, call the Metro Theatre Ticket Reservation line (604-266-7191) or you can buy them at the door, subject to availability. Ticket prices are $20 for adults, $17 for seniors/students. The Metro Theatre is wheelchair accessible and provides assisted listening devices upon request. More information about this production of Brighton Beach Memoirs and the Metro Theatre season can be found online at http://www.metrotheatre.org.
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