Broadway Bound

Library Journal

This third and final installment in Simon's semiautobiographical trilogy of plays—following Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983) and Biloxi Blues (1985), recordings of which are also available from L.A. Theatre Works—has brothers Eugene and Stanley struggling amid a family crisis to write a radio comedy skit in preparation for a major audition. A 1987 Tony Award nominee, it is a powerful and compelling story mediated by deft comedic positioning perfectly executed by the eight-person cast, particularly by Scott Wolfe (as Eugene) and Alan Mandell (as Grandfather Ben), who provide most of the laughs. The sound effects further make this a rich listening experience. For those fond of old-time radio drama and comedy.—Lance Eaton, Peabody, MA

School Library Journal

YA The final play in Simon's autobiographical trilogy, this is nothing short of brilliant. The story is both rib-tickling and heart-wrenching; the Jerome family is troubled, warm, and funny. The late 1940s finds Eugene Jerome trying to tackle television as a comedy writer while watching the deteriorating marriage of his parents and a grandfather who marches to his own drummer. Readers of this play will feel the joys and sorrows of a bygone era when family played a larger role in one's life. Simon's exquisite imagery and humor capture the love each of us harbors for our family but loses within our cluttered lives. This play will be an asset to any theater collection, as well as one that many will choose for recreational reading. Joseph Harper, Episcopal High School, Bellaire