The Boys Next Door

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 which 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 which 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 which they, like their more fortunate brothers, are allotted on this earth.

Cast:
Julie Baber
Richard Biermann*
Philip Chaffin*
Kate Cherichello
Stephanie Gould*
Christopher Lee*
Eric Loscheider*
Ann McCormack*
Bergin Michaels*
Patrick John Moran*
William Mulligan*

*Appearing courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association

Playwright: Tom Griffin
Directed by Justin Bennett & Lin Snider
Producer: Nicholas Linnehan
Stage Manager: Mary Linehan
Choreographer: Josh Gottesman
Costume Designer: Alison Kopki
Lighting Designer: Scott Fetterman