Tynan's Anger

I love Brighton Beach Memoirs. I believe it is a sincerely underrated play dismissed by snooty old/dead theater critics who consider Neil Simon a sitcom writer.

I have exceedingly fond memories of the play; performing monologues from it in the 7th grade was the highlight of my acting career.

I was thrilled when I heard that David Cromer, the best director in American theater, thought the same about Brighton Beach Memoirs. I was thrilled that Cromer's Broadway revival got excellent reviews.

But if its failure causes Broadway producers to stop pandering to the blue-haired crowd with straight plays, it may be the best thing to have happened to American theater in decades.

Labels: american theater, brighton beach memoirs, broadway, neil simon, old people, Producers, theater criticism