Neil Simon Talks the NEIL SIMON PLAYS Closing with the New York Times

As previously reported. The Neil Simon Plays' Brighton Beach Memoirs closed on Sunday, November 1st at the Nederlander Theatre.  Its sister production, Broadway Bound, scheduled to open later this month, was cancelled. 

This past weekend, the legendary playwright spoke to the New York Times in a phone interview about the closing.  His feeling: problEm Location.  Simon tells the New York Times:

"I never wanted to go into that theater...I fought as hard as I could not to go into the Nederlander. But by the time we had everyone ready to start rehearsing and constructing the set, that's the theater we had, so we took it."

While confused and devastated by the rapid unfolding of Brighton Beach Memoirs, he is understanding of the producer's decision to close the show due to the financial projections.

To read the full report in the New York Times, click here.

Brighton Beach Memoirs, the first of The Neil Simon Plays, opened on October 25 and played 9 performances and 25 previews. Broadway Bound was scheduled to begin performances on November 18 with an opening on December 10. The productions were directed by David Cromer.

"A lot of nice people on stage and off will be out of work and a lot of good partners and investors will have lost a great deal of money," commented producers Emanuel Azenberg and Ira Pittelman. "They all deserve better. It makes us sad."

Neil Simon is one of the the most internationally celebrated playwrights and screenwriters. His numerous Broadway succcesses have led to his work being among the most regularly performed in the world. Though primarily a comic writer, many of his plays, particularly the Eugene Trilogy and The Sunshine Boys, reflect on the twentieth century Jewish-American experience.  His Broadway credits include such favorites as Promises, Promises; Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, and Sweet Charity, in addition to nearly twenty others.

Brighton Beach Memoirs starred Laurie Metcalf (Kate Jerome) and Dennis Boutsikaris (Jack Jerome) with Santino Fontana (Stanley Jerome), Jessica Hecht (Blanche), Gracie Bea Lawrence (Laurie), Noah Robbins (Eugene Jerome) and Alexandra Socha (Nora).

Broadway Bound was to star Laurie Metcalf (Kate Jerome) and Dennis Boutsikaris (Jack Jerome) with Santino Fontana (Stanley Jerome), Jessica Hecht (Blanche), Josh Grisetti (Eugene Jerome) and Allan Miller (Ben).

Scenic design was by John Lee Beatty, costume design by Jane Greenwood, lighting design by Brian MacDevitt, sound design by Josh Schmidt and Fitz Patton, and hair and wig design by Tom Watson.

The Neil Simon Plays were produced by Ira Pittelman, Max Cooper, Jeffrey Sine, Scott Delman, Ruth Hendel, Roy Furman, Ben Sprecher/Wendy Federman, Scott Landis and Emanuel Azenberg.