Set in the summer of 1937, this story draws on Simon's own experiences growing up in a lower-middle-class family in Brighton Beach, New York. Fourteen year-old Eugene Jerome stands in for the author as the play's narrator, a young boy dealing with his own burgeoning sexual awareness while dreaming of playing baseball for his beloved New York Yankees. Through Eugene's eyes, we see a family rich with characters, including a formidable mother, an overworked father, and an idealistic but impulsive older brother. Throw into the mix his widowed aunt and her two young daughters and you have a cast of characters that are at once eccentric, inspiring, familiar and amusing. The first of Simon's three-part semi-autobiographical trilogy, Brighton Beach Memoirs combines Simon's trademark humor with a bittersweet tale of perseverance in the face of adversity.