Brighton Beach Memoirs is an award winning play by Neil Simon. Premiering on March 27, 1983, Brighton Beach Memoirs ran on Broadway for a total of 1299 performances, closing on May 11, 1986. The play opened in the Alvin Theater, which was renamed “The Neil Simon Theater” in June of 1983.http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=4212 Original cast members included Matthew Broderick in his Broadway debut.http://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/news/jan09/brighton03jan09.htm Other cast members included Elizabeth Franz, Peter Michael Goetz, and Mandy Ingber. http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=4212

The play was nominated for four Tony awards and won two. Matthew Broderick was awarded Best Featured Actor and Gene Saks won a Tony for Best Direction. Zeljko Ivanek was nominated for Best Featured actor, and Elizabeth Franz earned a nomination as Best Featured Actress.http://www.ibdb.com/awardproduction.asp?id=4212 A Broadway revival of Brighton Beach Memoirs premiered in 2009, starring Noah Robbins, Santino Fontana, and Laurie Metcalf.http://theater.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/theater/reviews/26brighton.html

Brighton Beach Memoirs presents the story of the Jerome family through the eyes and comic narration of the younger son, Eugene. The play is set in 1937, at the height of the Great Depression, while international tensions are threatening a world war.

Eugene’s widowed aunt and cousins have come to live with the family, putting financial pressure on Eugene’s father, who has had to take on a second job to help support them. The action takes place during two evenings, two weeks apart.http://www.broadway.com/shows/neil-simon-plays-brighton-beach-memoirs/story/

Brighton Beach Memoirs is the first play in a trilogy of plays involving the main character, Eugene Jerome. The other plays in this trilogy are Biloxi Blues and Broadway Bound. These three plays are said to be autobiographical, with Eugene playing the role of Neil Simon, first as a young teen at home, then as a young recruit in the military, and finally, as a budding playwright. http://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/news/jan09/brighton03jan09.htm

Neil Simon adapted his play into a screenplay for the feature film version of Brighton Beach Memoirs in 1986. The movie opened Christmas day and grossed nearly $11 million at the box office. Jonathan Silverman played the role of Eugene, with Blythe Danner in the role of his mother. The movie was directed by Gene Saks. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090774/