Soon to light up the Whidbey Playhouse stage is “Broadway Bound,” a tale of two brothers and their starry-eyed comedy writing dreams, sprinkled with a healthy-dose of family strife and slamming doors. Show dates for the play are Sept. 6-22.
Brothers Stanley and Eugene hope to make it big in the “show biz” as writers for radio and television, despite their struggles with creativity and concentration.
Photo by Laura Guido/Whidbey News-Times Chris Kehoe, left, and Ethan Webb, bicker as brothers Stanley and Eugene Jerome in Broadway Bound at Whidbey Playhouse.
Starring in this play with full Brooklyn accents are: Becky Lemay as Kate, Ben Honeycutt as Ben, Ethan Webb as Eugene, Chris Kehoe as Stan, Maddison Nuqui as Blanche and Jim Reynolds as Jack. The show is directed by David Frazer and Kevin Wm. Meyer.
In a Brighton Beach house with thin walls, live grandfather and “papa” Ben, a grouchy and opinionated socialist who is heavily invested in the lives of his daughters, including dotting and dignified Kate.
Kate Jerome, played by Becky Lemay, scolds her father Ben, played by Ben Honeycutt.
Her sons Stanley and Eugene live in adjoining rooms, making the journey short and frequent for sessions of agonizing over their careers. Older brother Stanley’s forceful personality pushes Eugene to work harder. Kate’s husband and father to their sons is Jack, a middle-aged, overworked man who claims he hasn’t settled or lost his passion for life, despite Kate’s insistences otherwise.
This third part of playwright Neil Simon’s autobiographical trilogy is a dramatic comedy sprinkled with classic humor and insights on the nature of infidelity, intimacy, familial love and the struggles that come with riches and fame.
Kate’s sister Blanche is hurt when her father Ben can’t accept her good fortune and fur coats after marrying, as her father feels it’s a betrayal of how he raised her and she’s forgotten where she came from.
As the young men work to have their written tales aired on radio, Jack reveals to Kate that he had an emotional affair with a woman who is now dying.
The disgusted and disappointed Kate is hurt by Jack’s revelation, and must eventually face her own questions of “what could have been.” Her son Eugene begs his mother to relive the tale of Kate’s younger days when she charmed and danced with a handsome movie star. The wistful son, who serves as play narrator, realizes that his father never danced with his mother in such a way as she deserved.
Stanley and Eugene’s comedic endeavors hit a little too close to their dysfunctional home for some family members, causing more strife.
• The Playhouse is located at 730 S.E. Midway Blvd., Oak Harbor. Show dates are Sept. 6-22. Cost is $18 for adults and seniors and $16 for military/youth. Visit the Playhouse website for information.
Chris Kehoe as Stanley Jerome in Broadway Bound, which begins playing at Whidbey Playhouse Sept. 6.
Photo by Laura Guido/Whidbey News-Times The curmudgeonly socialist grandfather Ben, played by Ben Honeycutt, lectures his wisecracking grandson Eugene Jerome, played by Ethan Webb, in Whidbey Playhouse’s production of “Broadway Bound.”
