Broadway Bound Review – South Florida Theater

As a short disclaimer, I must say I am very familiar with PPTOPA as I was the drama teacher at a nearby high school. I have witnessed strong family ties, business professionals, government electees, former students and friends support and perform there. I have also witnessed the evolution of its growth. Starting in its humble roots using community performers and retired professionals at Walter C. Young Community Center, PPTOPA has grown into a professional force at the Susan B. Katz River of Grass Theatre. It took 30 years to make this notable transition, a challenge and growth that is duly noted. I applaud its determination and perseverance. 

Since its inception, the board challenged itself to provide professional quality shows to the community. Since 1993, PPTOPA has produced hundreds of quality plays, well worth the price of admission. It wasn’t until the late 1990’s when Sun Sentinel critic, Jack Zink, reviewed a very daring straight show, “Inherit the Wind”, and helped PPTOPA garnish a unique reputation, thus placing it on the South Florida theater map.

Oscar Wilde stated the following. “I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.” Neil Simon, author of Broadway Bound, has written more than 30 plays and won critical acclaim during his career. He has a talent for connecting to reality. Simon has received many prestigious awards, including three Tony Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, a Golden Globe and is a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors. Newsday called Broadway Bound, “A lovely play: warm, perceptive and gently humorous.” In 1987, Broadway Bound was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama and nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play, as well as a Drama Desk Award for Best Play.

In his semi-autobiographical trilogy, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues and Broadway Bound, Simon shows a loving portrayal of his main character, Eugene. The trilogy depicts the transformation of a teenager from Brooklyn to a soldier in Biloxi to a 23-year-old dreamer who aspires to be a comedy playwright with his older brother, Stan. The storyline closely follows Simon’s own life.

Broadway Bound opens at the Jerome home in the winter of 1949 in Brighton Beach. As in Brighton Beach Memoirs, the occupants are Eugene, his brother, Stan, his mother, Kate, and his father, Jack. To spice things up, grandfather Ben has moved in to avoid dealing with his estranged wife. As always, Simon as incredibly adept at combining spitballs of humor and snippets of reality. Each character has their own “schtick”! Eugene and Stanley get wrapped up in writing comedy sketches for CBS while Jack and Kate are trying to hold on to the last thread of an unraveling relationship. Ben is a persnickety socialist who quotes Trotsky and despises capitalism.

The play is written in two acts, each strategic to the story’s development. At the opening of Act 1, Kate is preparing dinner for the family. Eugene arrives home from work at a record store. Simon once again uses the convention of breaking the fourth wall to talk to the audience. This is by no means conventional but very popular for his style of comedy. Eugene sends out zingers and wisecracks that make the audience giggle.

Stanley arrives home with the exciting news that he’s won the golden ticket: an audition with CBS for their comedy material. Jack does not show up for dinner, only to reinforce the obvious strain between the parents.

Knowing they have a strict deadline, the boys go upstairs and brainstorm for comedic material. Blanche, Kate’s sister, comes over to convince Ben to work things out with his estranged, ill wife. She wants them to move to Miami with her. Ben is obstinate and refuses and shares his opinion that Kate and Jack are going to separate. The boys are struggling to find perfect audition material and then realize it could be right in front of them in their own family. Act 1 ends with Jack returning home late. Kate has waited up for him to address their marriage and Jack admits to his indiscretion with a widow. Kate begs him to stop.

 Act 2 starts with the family gathered around the radio to hear Eugene and Stanley’s

comedic debut. Although the sketch suggests a fictional family, it clearly hits close to home. Jack is enraged at them for airing the family’s dirty laundry. A huge blowout ensues between he and Stanley.

After the tumult, there is a quieter, more poignant, scene between Eugene and Kate. No one knows what the real world holds. Some moments are fun, rich and memorable and others, not so much. Jack moves out and Kate is told this information by Ben. Eugene and Stanley find great success and move out of Brighton Beach. Eventually, Ben gets back with his wife and they move to Miami. Kate remains in the Brighton Beach house. Here one can see how Neil Simon blends his own comedic humor with the realities of the world that shaped him. The reality of this third, darker Simon play, Broadway Bound, shows that every family has their share of joy and sorrow.

Disappointingly, Friday night’s audience was sparce. If laughter is contagious, then laughter from the audience was sporadic. It is always easier to play to a full house.

Despite the small turn-out, the ensemble of actors gave it their all.

Dana Fredebaugh, as Blanche, displayed a nice sense of empathy. Despite re-marrying into wealth, wearing furs and living on Park Avenue, this has been quite a change for her from living with her sister, Kate, in Brighton Beach.

Larry Bressler, as Jack, showed depth and angst. Caught between a dissolving marriage and the desire for something better, he displays a wide range of emotions. By not holding back his feelings, his monologue after the radio show, was strong and direct.

Kate, played by Rosie Prieto, the matriarch of the family, had a difficult task. It is easy to be a typical Jewish mother but not when one knows her husband is cheating on her. Her portrayal was simple, truthful and elegant. Her delivery of the family dining room monologue in Act 2 was touching and nostalgic. 

Stanley, the older brother, was played by Aaron Bravo. He brought a frenetic energy filled with confidence, angst, optimism and nerves. His character desperately wanted to move out in search of a better life. 

The lead, Eugene, portrayed by John Henry Parks, had the responsibility of going in and out of character. His asides to the audience were cute and clever.

Ben, the Trotsky-loving grandfather played by Rick Prada, nailed his performance. There was a genuine quality that played real and very believable.

The design team of Michael Graham (lights), John Blessed (set) and Geoffrey Mergele (costumes) did a more than adequate job creating the Jerome environment. Costumes

seemed appropriate for that vintage 1949 look. Lighting worked especially for Eugene’s asides. The set worked for the time period and showed a nice attention to detail. The upstairs platform could have been raised slightly so the beds were above the sofa sight lines. The upstairs bedrooms got the point across. 

Jerry Jensen, the director/sound director, did a nice job. The sounds of the trains, radio dial as well as the pre- and post-show music added to the overall feel of the production. By contrast, the staging seemed a bit lackluster. It worked but seemed slightly stilted. The best scene in the show was Kate’s and Jerome’s George Raft dance re-enactment. Those five minutes showed warmth, kindness and vulnerability.

Overall, Broadway Bound was a credit to the founders of PPTOPA. They had a belief that theater could shine in west Pembroke Pines and it does. Though not perfect, Broadway Bound did contain moments of brilliance. Neil Simon had plenty to say in Broadway Bound with its themes of growth, separation, old age and infidelity. Past PPTOPA productions with professional actors have given other professional venues a run for their money. You are encouraged to check out the next PPTOPA production in the fall.