Neil Simon Praises Next to Normal, Talks Nerves to the NY Times

Neil Simon gave a wide-ranging interview to the New York Times earlier this week, in which he discusses his nerves about the dual revivals of Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound which are being revived in repertory for the first time since the 1980s when the productions first opened. 

The articles also notes that "During the interview in his office Mr. Simon had a couple of lapses on the names of his old plays, but he shared anecdotes about his parents and his life in the theater and gave his own laudatory review of the new musical 'Next to Normal,' which he has seen twice."

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Neil Simon has been represented on Broadway by Come Blow Your Horn; Little Me; Barefoot in the Park; The Odd Couple; Sweet Charity; The Star-Spangled Girl; Plaza Suite; Promises, Promises; Last of the Red Hot Lovers; The Gingerbread Lady; The Prisoner of Second Avenue; The Sunshine Boys; The Good Doctor; God's Favorite; California Suite; Chapter Two; They're Playing Our Song; I Ought to Be in Pictures; Fools; Brighton Beach Memoirs; Biloxi Blues (1985 Tony Award); the female version of The Odd Couple; Broadway Bound; Rumors; Lost in Yonkers (1991 Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award); Jake's Women; The Goodbye Girl; Laughter on the 23rd Floor; Proposals; The Dinner Party; and 45 Seconds From Broadway. Off-Broadway: London Suite, Hotel Suite and Rose's Dilemma. Films include Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, The Out-of-Towners, Plaza Suite, The Heartbreak Kid, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, Murder by Death, The Sunshine Boys, The Goodbye Girl, The Cheap Detective, California Suite, Chapter Two, Seems Like Old Times, Only When I Laugh, I Ought to Be in Pictures, Max Dugan Returns, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues and Lost in Yonkers.

BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS, the first of THE Neil Simon PLAYS, directed by David Cromer, opens tonight, Sunday, October 25.  BROADWAY BOUND will join BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS in repertory on November 18, 2009. 
 
BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS originally opened on March 27, 1983 at the Alvin Theatre and played for 1,299 performances.  (During the run of BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS, the Alvin Theatre was renamed The Neil Simon Theatre).  
 
BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS stars Laurie Metcalf (Kate Jerome) andDennis Boutsikaris (Jack Jerome) with Santino Fontana (Stanley Jerome),Jessica Hecht (Blanche), Gracie Bea Lawrence (Laurie), Noah Robbins(Eugene Jerome) and Alexandra Socha (Nora).
 
BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS centers on young Jewish teen Eugene Morris Jerome and his extended family living in a crowded home in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn in the late 1930s: his overworked father, Jack; overbearing mother, Kate; his older brother Stanley; Kate’s widowed sister Blanche and her daughters, Nora and Laurie.  As Eugene spends his time daydreaming about a baseball career, he must also cope with his family’s troubles, his awkward discovery of the opposite sex and his developing identity as a writer.   
 
Scenic design is by John Lee Beatty, costume design is by Jane Greenwood, lighting design is by Brian MacDevitt and sound design is by Josh Schmidtand Fitz Patton.   Hair and wig design is by Tom Watson. 
 
THE Neil Simon PLAYS are produced by Ira Pittelman, Max Cooper, Jeffrey Sine, Scott Delman, Ruth Hendel, Roy Furman, Ben Sprecher/Wendy Federman, Scott Landis and Emanuel Azenberg. 
 
THE Neil Simon PLAYS will be performed in repertory on a varied schedule.  Visitwww.TheNeilSimonPlays.com for performance schedule and other information.  Tickets are available online at www.TicketMaster.com, by phone at 212-307-4100 or at the Nederlander Theatre box office (208 West 41st Street).

Photo Credit: Peter James Zielinski