“The Boys Next Door” at Soar Productions

“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.

Performed by Soar Productions
At The Post Theater in Sandy Hook
Performances ran
Friday, February 3, 2012 thru Saturday, February 18, 2012
Arnold Wiggins.... Tom Nemec
Barry Klemper.... Rudy Palma
Jack Palmer.... Vincent Fay
Lucien P. Smith.... Michael Dalberg
Mr. John Hedges, Mr. Corbin, Senator Clarke.... Dave Harris Has Bio
Mr. Klemper.... James Walsh
Mrs. Fremus.... Donna Wilson
Mrs. Karen Warren, Clara.... Becky Stromberg
Norman Bulansky.... Marcus Scott
Sheila.... Carolyn Driscoll
Directed by James Walsh
Produced by Mary Rios
Produced by Moe Rios
Stage Managed by Donna Wilson

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