time is about half past six in the evening. Inside the house, Kate Jerome is setting the table for the supper meal. Kate’s sister, Blanche Morton, is occupied at the sewing machine; Laurie Morton is reading a book on the sofa. The general condition of the interior of the house suggests that this is a family struggling financially.

The audience discovers early in act 1 that the Jeromes are a Jewish family trying to survive during the Depression years of the late 1930’s. Jack Jerome works hard to provide food, clothing, insurance, and a house for the two families. Blanche’s husband, Dave, died at the age of thirty-six, leaving her and her two daughters without any financial stability. The Mortons had to move in with Blanche’s sister’s family in order to survive. Laurie has a heart flutter which requires a doctor’s supervision. Blanche, while young and attractive, has resisted meeting other men since Dave’s death; thus, she and her daughters must depend on the kindness and generosity of others.

Nora Morton returns home from her weekly dance lesson with the news that Mr. Beckman, a Broadway producer, has asked her to audition for a dancing role in the soon-to-be-produced musical Abracadabra. Her desire to be in the musical conflicts with Blanche’s desire that she complete high school. This conflict heightens the stress that exists in the interpersonal relationship between mother and daughter. Further increasing the tension is Stanley Jerome’s revelation that he has been fired from his seventeen-dollar-a-week job unless he writes a letter of apology to his boss, Mr. Stroheim, for sweeping dirt on his shoes. When Jack arrives home from work the audience sees a fatigued and completely exhausted man carrying a heavy load of responsibility on his shoulders. In order to meet the needs of his family he works as a cloth cutter during the day and sells noisemakers at night. Jack’s news about the events surrounding his work day is dismal: The noisemaker business has gone bankrupt.

Around the supper table, family members attempt to pressure one another into revealing their various problems and concerns. No resolution to the issues is reached during the meal. In fact, it appears that everything is all the more confused by a lack of straightforward discussion among the individuals at the table.

After supper, Jack and Nora go for a walk to discuss Nora’s desire to audition for the musical. The tension between Blanche and Nora is strongly intensified when Jack tells Nora that she should stay in school. Nora explodes from a sense of deep frustration: She sees her chances of fame and success slipping away.

Eventually, Stanley confides in his father, telling him about the events at work at Mr. Stroheim’s. Once he is confident that his father respects his having stood up for his principles at work, Stanley resolves to apologize to Mr. Stroheim in order to keep his job. The act ends with Stanley and Eugene in their room. Stanley needs Eugene’s help writing the letter of apology to Mr. Stroheim. Sensing the power of his position, Eugene blackmails his brother into describing what he saw when he walked in on Nora just after she had gotten out of the shower.

Act 2 opens as Kate comes down the stairway after taking Jack his supper. Laurie is on the sofa reading a book, while Eugene sits outside writing in his book of memoirs. The plot in act 2 revolves around the family’s struggle to maintain harmony and stability despite the increased financial stresses that compound the conflicts.

After the loss of the noisemaker business, Jack had taken a job as a taxi cab driver to supplement his income, but the strain was so great that he suffered a mild heart attack. Realizing that the family is in financial difficulty without Jack’s income, Stanley tries to replace the lost money by gambling. He ends up, however, losing his entire week’s wages, thus putting the family in an even more difficult position.

Meanwhile, Blanche is preparing for a date with Frank Murphy, an Irish neighbor, whom Kate despises although she has never even talked with him. Nora’s anger toward her mother is still evident, and she leaves the house on a date without taking the time to wish her mother well on her date with Mr. Murphy. When Blanche learns of Nora’s departure, she is devastated by the lack of caring shown by her daughter.

Kate learns that Stanley has lost his week’s wages playing poker. Her anger and fear are clearly held in check as she attempts to keep her world under control. When Blanche receives a message from Mrs. Murphy, Frank’s mother, that he has been involved in an accident and will not be able to take her out for dinner, she is visibly hurt. Adding to the pain of the moment is Kate’s renewed attacks against others.

At this point in the play, the action explodes; everyone’s world seems to be falling apart. A violent argument occurs between Kate and Blanche. Kate, feeling the burden of having to assume Jack’s leadership responsibilities, lashes out at her sister. In return, Blanche expresses the years of sorrow and grief of having to live without her husband. The fear and the uncertainty of her position, combined with the demands of rearing two daughters, cause Blanche to attack her sister angrily.

Kate is also angry: She considers that during her life she has always had to give to others without receiving anything in return. Harsh accusations and words are exchanged. Years of frustration are poured out as the two sisters angrily attack each other. Blanche decides to move to a house of her own and to find a job so that she can take care of herself and her daughters.

After the passing of this crisis, the audience finds Blanche talking to Nora, who has returned from her date. Mother and daughter talk through their conflict. This is a classic scene wherein each explains her need for love and her sense that no love is forthcoming from the other. These moments between Blanche and Nora provide a tender, loving scene on the stage, as the two women discover just how much they really love each other. Following these moments is another scene of love and caring, this one between Kate and Blanche. The two sisters work out an agreement, that the Jeromes and the Mortons will continue to live together until Blanche has a job and the financial security to move into the Murphys’ house across the street. This way Blanche will be far enough away to shut her own door, but not so far away that Kate would be lonely without her company.

Stanley, filled with shame for having lost his week’s wages, has left to join the army. It does not take long, however, for him to realize how much his family needs him at home at this time. After a day’s absence, Stanley returns home, where he is welcomed like the prodigal son. At this point, all the family members have balanced their relationships with each other. Once again it appears that the world of the Jeromes and the Mortons is filled with love and concern for one another.

The play ends with a foreshadowing of things to come. World War II is about to break out. A letter from London informs the family that Jack’s cousin, Sholem, has escaped from Poland and is coming to the United States. The family’s attention turns to this new crisis. How will they deal with the arrival of several new family members? With stoic confidence, Jack tells the others and the audience, “They got out. That’s all that’s important. They got out.”

Brighton Beach Memoirs uses several dramatic devices to provide theatergoers with a literal and a metaphorical interpretation of the play. Initially, the set description establishes an environment that re-creates a realistic view of family life during a more innocent period of United States history. The exterior of the wood-frame house and the interior furnishings reflect the image of an average American family during the final years of the Great Depression. It is important for the audience to be able to get a feeling for the characters’ environment in order to understand their joys and tribulations. This realistic setting permits a literal understanding of Neil Simon’s play.

On the other hand, the house and characters serve as a metaphoric microcosm of the world at that time. The characters offer a representation of the nations of the world, as they struggle to control and maintain their destinies in an increasingly chaotic universe. The family becomes a microculture representing the macroculture of the world in the late 1930’s. As the family goes through its normal routine, the audience watches the tensions build between its various members. Relationships become strained further with each new difficulty confronting the family. The family upheaval, therefore, becomes a metaphor for the tensions existing between nations just prior to the entry of the United States into World War II. As the family had experienced happier and better days, so had the world before the Depression and Nazi Germany’s expansion into Western Europe.

The characters are also used to create and sustain a metaphor of the Jewish struggle to survive in hostile conditions. Remembering her own mother, Kate says, “She said, ’No matter what the Cossacks did to us, when they broke into our house, they would have respect for the Jews.’ ” This metaphor is also projected through Stanley’s comment about his reaction to Mr. Stroheim’s treatment of the black man Andrew: “I felt the dignity of everyone who worked in that store was in my hands.”

Another important dramatic device used by Simon involves the adaptation of the classic Greek playwrights’ use of a chorus to comment upon and further the action of the play. In Brighton Beach Memoirs the character of Eugene is used to comment on the attitudes, relationships, and actions of the various family members. As the family interacts in each new situation, the audience is able to discover the playwright’s vision through his mouthpiece, Eugene.

The use of the various metaphors and images and of Eugene as a commentator is clear, yet neither of these devices becomes obtrusive. The audience is able to enjoy the comedic elements of the play. In fact, the humor is used effectively by Simon to diffuse the more serious elements of the plot. The interactions between Eugene and Stanley offer the theater participant an opportunity for lighthearted enjoyment of the stage action. It is during their interactions that the vital nature of theater as performance is most evident to the observer. Simon’s humor serves as a release for the tensions created by the potential tragedies facing the family. The tension and humor within the family keep the audience entertained. The dramatic elements presented without the humor would be heavy-handed.

In 1983, the United States drew heavily on its past for inspiration. Nostalgia was a powerful cultural influence. Older concepts were reimagined and blended into new philosophies and styles, resulting in little that was genuinely original. This trend was visible in various ways. For instance, 1930s-style Art Deco had a significant impact on fashion. Rap music, emerging in the 1980s, often relied on samples (recorded snippets) from other artists' songs. Some of the decade's most popular films, like Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark, were essentially modern takes on 1930s B-movie serials. Adding to the country's fascination with past entertainment, America's president was former film star Ronald Reagan. His populist rhetoric and straightforward, common-sense approach to leadership echoed the heroic cowboy attitudes from 1930s films.

Reagan was also the oldest person ever elected president, and by 1983, he was seventy-two years old. The American population was "graying," with the proportion of senior citizens rapidly increasing due to improved healthcare extending average life spans. This senior demographic banded together to assert its influence. The AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) saw significant membership growth and became a powerful lobbying force in Congress. This led to discussions about a generation gap, as the needs of senior citizens often clashed with those of younger generations, particularly in debates over Social Security funding.

Reagan, a Republican, governed from a conservative standpoint. The nation seemed to embrace these right-leaning philosophies as a counter to the liberal 1970s. Many voters elected Reagan hoping he would address the country's economic issues, but by 1983, unemployment remained at record levels. However, inflation had decreased to 3.2 percent. While conservatives promoted a family-oriented, traditional lifestyle as the "new" ideal, these ideals conflicted with the reality of rising divorce rates, single-parent households, and the threat of the AIDS virus. These contradictions highlighted the superficial nature of the era, where trivial concerns overshadowed significant issues. In truth, the wealthy minority grew richer while the middle class shrank, leaving more people facing economic challenges.

To stimulate the economy and divert attention from weak domestic policies, Reagan and the Republicans spent a record amount on defense, justifying their expenditures with anti-Communist rhetoric (the United States was still in the Cold War with the Soviet Union). In 1983, an incident occurred that allegedly demonstrated the "evil" intentions of the Soviet Union. A Korean airliner accidentally entered Soviet airspace and was shot down, resulting in the death of everyone on board.

The Reagan administration used the incident as evidence that the Soviet threat was genuine, as was the danger of nuclear war. A debate emerged over whether a nuclear war could ever be won. One of the most widely viewed television movies of 1983 was ABC's "The Day After," which imagined the consequences of a nuclear conflict. Despite these tense circumstances, the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in negotiations for arms reduction treaties throughout much of the decade. However, America's strategy of extensive defense spending greatly inflated the federal budget deficit, resulting in an unpredictable economic future.

SettingBrighton Beach Memoirs is set in Brighton Beach, New York, in September 1937, during the tail end of the Great Depression and just before World War II begins. The Jerome family resides in a lower-middle-class neighborhood near the beach, predominantly inhabited by Jewish, German, and Irish communities. The entire play's action unfolds in and around the Jerome's frame house, which features a small porch. Inside, the audience can view the dining room and living room on the first floor, along with stairs leading to the second floor. Upstairs, the audience sees a hallway and three modest bedrooms: one shared by Nora and Laurie, another by Stanley and Eugene, and the third by Kate and Jack. This setting accentuates the play's familial themes and the close-knit nature of their relationships.

Narrator
Eugene Jerome serves as the narrator of Brighton Beach Memoirs. He speaks directly to the audience, providing commentary on the events and sharing insights. Much of Eugene's dialogue is humorous, offering a break from the play's dramatic tensions. By addressing the audience directly, Eugene creates a connection between them and the core of the play. This technique also helps the audience to better understand Eugene's thoughts and emotions. For instance, through his reflections, the audience learns that he despises his name and gets a glimpse of his true feelings about his family. While his actions sometimes contradict his words, his genuine emotions are evident.

Through his narration, Eugene also divulges information about his family that might otherwise remain unknown to the audience. For example, he provides details about Aunt Blanche and why she and her daughters live with the Jeromes.

Metaphor
The Jerome and Morton family household can be seen as a metaphor or microcosm of America in the late 1930s. Brighton Beach Memoirs is set in 1937, during the Depression and the rise of Nazi atrocities in Europe. Many household members recall a better life before the economic and political upheaval. For instance, Nora remembers life before her father's death. The household's tensions escalate with each new problem, mirroring the growing tensions in Europe as Nazi aggression intensifies. Additionally, because the Jerome and Morton families are Jewish, this metaphor operates on another level. Their struggle to endure and preserve their dignity under extreme conditions reflects the broader challenges Jewish people faced amid the virulent anti-Semitism of the Nazis.

1937: The United States is deep in the Great Depression. Unemployment is very high, with about a quarter of the workforce unable to find jobs.

1983: The United States faces a recession, with unemployment rates reaching record highs.

Today: The U.S. economy is relatively stable. The national unemployment rate is very low, and the stock market is hitting record highs. In early 1999, the market surpasses the 10,000 mark for the first time.

1937: War appears imminent in Europe due to German leader Adolf Hitler's aggressive foreign policies. Within two years, Europe will be engulfed in war.

1983: The Cold War, a prolonged political standoff between the United States and Russia, is nearing its end. When Mikhail Gorbachev is elected as the Russian president a few years later, the Cold War will conclude.

Today: While there are pockets of political instability in regions like the Middle East and the Balkans, nearly all of Europe remains stable.

1937: Social Security, a New Deal policy designed to provide income for retirees, was introduced in 1935 and is fully operational by 1937.

1983: The aging American population (with between twenty-six and thirty million people aged sixty-five or older) places unprecedented demands on the Social Security system. President Reagan signs a bill to secure Social Security funding for the next seventy-five years.

Today: Concerns persist that Social Security may become insolvent as the Baby Boomer generation ages. There is ongoing debate about alternative methods to support Social Security, including potential investments by the U.S. government in the stock market.

Brighton Beach Memoirs was turned into a film in 1986. Simon wrote the screenplay based on his own play. Directed by Gene Saks, the film stars Jonathon Silverman as Eugene, Blythe Danner as Kate, Bob Dishy as Jack, and Judith Ivey as Blanche.

SOURCES
Gilman, Frank. Review of Brighton Beach Memoirs in the Nation, May 21, 1983, p. 650.

Hughes, Catharine. "Broadway Blooms" in America, June 4, 1983, p. 441.

Kalem, T. E. "Speak Memory" in Time, April 11, 1983, p. 100.

Kerr, Walter. "Seeing a Comic Mind Emerge" in the New York Times, April 3, 1983, pp. H3, H13.

Kroll, Jack. "Simon Says Laugh" in Newsweek, April 11, 1983, pp. 66-67.

Rich, Frank. "Stage: Neil Simon's 'Brighton Beach'" in the New York Times, March 28, 1983, p. C9.

Simon, John. Review of Brighton Beach Memoirs in New York, April 11, 1983, p. 55.

Simon, Neil. Brighton Beach Memoirs, Random House, 1984.

Further Reading
Bennetts, Leslie. "Neil Simon Delves into His Past" in the New York Times, March 27, 1983, Sec. 2, pp. 1, 6.
Bennetts interviews Simon, discussing, among other subjects, the inspiration for Brighton Beach Memoirs.

McGovern, Edythe M. Not-So-Simple Neil Simon: A Critical Study, Perivale Press, 1978.
McGovern provides criticism and interpretation of each of Simon's plays, from Come Blow Your Horn to Chapter Two.

Simon, Neil. Rewrites: A Memoir, Simon & Schuster, 1997.
Simon's autobiography details both his career and personal life up to 1973.