“The Boys Next Door” at Somerset Valley Players

“The Boys Next Door”
by Tom Griffin

The gentle comedy of a houseful of four special young men living together in support and trust lightens the heart and uplifts the soul, as their simple good nature and unique sense of happiness and humanity seek connection with an outside world skeptical of their continued quest for routine existence. The place is a communal residence in a New England city, where four mentally handicapped men live under the supervision of an earnest, but increasingly "burned out" young social worker named Jack. Norman, who works in a doughnut shop and is unable to resist the lure of the sweet pastries, takes great pride in the huge bundle of keys that dangles from his waist; Lucien P. Smith has the mind of a five-year-old but imagines that he is able to read and comprehend the weighty books he lugs about; Arnold, the ringleader of the group, is a hyperactive, compulsive chatterer, who suffers from deep-seated insecurities and a persecution complex; while Barry, a brilliant schizophrenic who is devastated by the unfeeling rejection of his brutal father, fantasizes that he is a golf pro. Mingled with scenes from the daily lives of these four, where "little things" sometimes become momentous (and often very funny), are moments of great poignancy when, with touching effectiveness, we are reminded that the handicapped, like the rest of us, want only to love and laugh and find some meaning and purpose in the brief time that they, like their more fortunate brothers, are allotted on this earth.

Sponsored by TD Bank.

Performed by Somerset Valley Players
At Somerset Valley Playhouse
Performances ran
Friday, June 10, 2011 thru Sunday, June 26, 2011
Announcer.... N. Kent Loudon
Arnold Wiggins.... David Clarke
Barry Klemper.... Rudy Palma
Jack Palmer.... Christopher W Hall
Lucien P. Smith.... Greg Chornomaz
Mr. John Hedges, Mr. Corbin, Senator Clarke.... Eric Radell
Mr. Klemper.... Arnie Chinich Has Bio
Mrs. Fremus, Mrs. Warren, Clara.... Jennifer Lubach
Norman Bulansky.... Peter Reimann
Sheila.... Nancy Zrake-Daniels
Directed by Christopher Rollings Has Bio
Produced by Linda Giordano
Assistant Produced by PJ Campicci
Stage Managed by Harriet Trainor
Assistant Stage Managed by Laura Sarles

Buy the Script