Brighton Beach Memoirs

The play opens at the Jerome house in Brighton Beach, an area Simon describes as “lower-middle income area inhabited mainly by Jews, Irish, and Germans” (3). Kate Jerome, her sister Blanche Morris, and Blanche’s daughter Laurie Morton are working around the house. Kate’s son Eugene is outside playing baseball. He is monologuing as though he is playing in the World Series and is throwing the ball against the wall. Kate tells him he’s being too loud and asks him to quiet down. Blanche mentions her headache, and Laurie insists Eugene always seems to be disruptive while she’s studying. Eugene begrudgingly ends his game to set the dinner table. He delivers the first of many addresses to the audience, saying that he always seems to be blamed for household problems. He also expresses that Laurie seems to get special treatment from his mother and aunt since she was born with a heart flutter.

Eugene is almost 15 and has ambitious dreams. His first choice is to pursue a career in baseball, but he feels as though his full name, Eugene Morris Jerome, will prevent him from playing for his beloved Yankees. His back-up dream is to be a writer. He informs the audience that he is secretly writing a book:

“Listen, I hope you don’t repeat this to anybody…What I’m telling you are my secret memoirs…It’s called ‘The Unbelievable, Fantastic, and Completely Private Thoughts of I, Eugene Morris Jerome, in this, the fifteenth year of his life, in the year nineteen hundred and thirty-seven, in the community of Brighton Beach, Borough of Brooklyn, Kings County, City of New York Empire State of the American Nation–’” (8)

Kate interrupts Eugene’s monologue to chastise him for leaving a roller skate in the kitchen and sends him to his room. As Eugene leaves to write in his journal, Blanche attempts to comfort Kate, suggesting that Eugene’s just acting like young boys do. Kate asserts the importance of an orderly house and says it is her way of demanding respect from others. She then discusses Blanche getting respect from the neighbors due to her “situation.” Eugene clarifies that his Uncle Dave died from cancer. After he passed, Blanche, Laurie, and Blanche’s eldest daughter Nora moved in with the Jeromes. This was necessary because Blanche has severe asthma that prevents her from strenuous work. The family never seems to discuss it, but it clearly weighs on Blanche and her children. She repeatedly promises to pay back Kate and Jack for their hardships.

Eugene admits that this year he’s started noticing girls, especially his cousin Nora. He knows it’s inappropriate to have feelings for a relative, but he says he can’t help it. As if on cue, Nora rushes into the house and announces that she was asked to audition for a Broadway show. She is an avid dancer who takes pride in her classes, which are funded by Jack. Laurie thinks this offer is suspicious since she can’t sing or act, but Nora clarifies that the producer is specifically looking for dancers. Blanche is immediately worried since the producer didn’t check to see that Nora was an adult. She also thinks that dropping out of high school to be in a musical will limit her options. However, Nora insists that she wants to pursue a career in theater. Blanche and Kate tell her it’s incredibly difficult to make it in the world as a woman with no high school degree. They also remind her that she could lose her whole career if her looks change or she gets injured. Nora rebuts these arguments, reminding Blanche that she has consistently prioritized her training and that a successful dance career could help her provide for the family. She asks Blanche to at least allow her to audition. Blanche is paralyzed by this request and refuses to make a decision. She defers to Kate, who says she has no opinion. As a result, Blanche determines that Jack will be the deciding vote. Nora pushes back, insisting that it is unfair since Jack isn’t her real father, but Blanche says it’s final. Eugene, hoping to impress Nora, says he would support her auditioning, but she just cries and runs away. Kate immediately sends him away by telling him to pick up butter from Greenblatt’s, their local deli. He complains that he always has to go but agrees anyway.

While Eugene is away, Laurie and Nora begin talking in their shared room. Nora resents that her life is in Jack’s hands, saying “How would you feel if your entire life depended on what your Uncle Jack decided?...Oh, God, I wish Daddy were alive” (19). Laurie has very few memories of their father, so Nora explains that while he was always strict he explained his reasoning. Laurie observes that Blanche still talks to him every night and sleeps with his picture on the bed. Nora reminisces that he seemed like a movie star and always brought her treats from outside and always had pockets full of great things. The first time she realized he was really dead was when she found his jacket dry-cleaned and with empty pockets. Overwhelmed with emotion at the loss of her agency, she tells Laurie they can’t continue living as boarders. She thinks that their financial instability and lack of a home is part of why she is unable to make decisions for herself.

Eugene comes back from the market and introduces the audience to his brother Stanley, who immediately started working after high school to provide more support for his family. Stanley is home from work early, which is unusual. Once Eugene and Stanley are alone in their room, Stanley confesses that he got fired from his job for standing up for a coworker, Andrew, who accidentally spilled oil on some hats. When his boss told Andrew the price of the hats was coming out of his salary Stanley told the boss that it wasn’t fair. The boss then sent Andrew on an errand that was ordinarily Stanley’s job and told Stanley to finish up the sweeping Andrew had been doing when he spilled the oil. Everyone was watching, so Stanley swept the dirt onto the boss’s newly shined shoes. His boss said he could come back the next day if he wrote him a letter of apology, but he refused unless the boss agreed to back off Andrew. Stanley acknowledges that the family needs the money but that he sticks by his values. He says, “I mean, if you give in when you’re eighteen and a half, you’ll give in for the rest of your life, don’t you think?” (27). Stanley is also hesitant to submit to his boss since his father constantly reminds him that personal values are important. Eugene guesses that their father will make him write the letter, but Stanley thinks he will let him decide for himself. Eugene says that between Nora’s audition and Stanley’s letter, their family is in for an eventful dinner. He reflects on his relationship with Stanley, telling the audience that “Either I worshiped the ground he walked on or I hated him so much I wanted to kill him…I guess you know how I feel about him today” (27-28).

Kate greets Stanley when he goes downstairs for dinner. The two joke back and forth about their day, and Kate notes that Stanley gives her a hug. She says he only does this when he is in trouble. Stanley tries to leave before Kate can ask him about work, but she reminds him that he was supposed to ask about getting an earlier paycheck so she can pay Mr. Greenblatt from the deli. Stanley is saved by a sudden crash from the kitchen. Eugene thinks he’ll get blamed for it, but it turns out to be Blanche, who dropped some plates while having an asthma attack. Kate says living near the beach isn’t good for her. Blanche insists she’s fine and that she’ll replace the plates.

Jack finally arrives after a long night at work. Eugene tries to help him with his boxes, but Jack says he just needs to rest and drink some water. Eugene explains that Jack is a salesman by night and a garment worker by day. He reveres his father, telling the audience, “I don’t know how he does it” (32). Kate notices that Jack seems particularly agitated. When they are alone, he says the party favor business he works with closed without warning. Kate tells him they can still make ends meet with his garment job, but he says that seven people is too much to feed on that salary. Jack points out that the math is sobering: “I can’t get by without that extra twenty-five dollars a week. I can’t pay rent and insurance and food and clothing for seven people. Christmas and New Year’s alone I made a hundred and fifty dollars” (34). His boss refuses to pay the workers that were laid off yet still decided to attend an expensive Broadway show. Kate tries to comfort him, reminding him that he can pray over his concerns at temple. However, Jack is not optimistic, saying “There’s men in that temple who’ve been praying for forty years. You know how many prayers have to get answered before my turn comes up?” (35). Jack raises the question of Blanche getting married and moving out as a solution for their financial struggles, but Kate immediately shuts it down.

Later on, the family is eating a tense dinner. Kate begins to scold Eugene for not finishing his liver. Hoping to avoid punishment, he tries to cause a diversion by asking Stanley about his work. Stanley is fuming and fumbles a bit when Jack suggests asking for a raise. However, the pressure is briefly lifted off Stan when Laurie asks Nora how dance school is going. This gives her the opportunity to bring up her audition. Jack says that they should take advantage of “family hour” to talk about any decisions, but the family ends up bickering about liver (46). Nora finally offers to eat it in hopes of steering the subject back to her dancing career, but Jack remains preoccupied, telling Kate that it’s wasteful to make food that nobody likes. Kate retaliates, saying that they can’t afford better meat for seven people.

Jack tries to turn on the news and points out that Adolf Hitler moved into Austria. He says sooner or later the rest of the world will get involved. The family worries about Hitler’s expansion into the rest of Europe. When Stanley asks if he thinks the war will reach America, Jack says it doesn’t matter. As Jewish people, they are intrinsically connected to any suffering abroad. Jack has a cousin in Poland who is looking to flee. Stanley believes it would be difficult to take in any more people, but Jack says they are obligated due to their shared beliefs and cultures. He tells Stanley, “What God gives us to deal with, we deal with” (49). Thinking Jack is done with the subject, he tries to divert the subject back to his job, but Kate sends him and Eugene upstairs. When the two are back in their room, Stan says he is upset Eugene sabotaged him at the dinner table.

Once the kids are gone, Jack muses about what they would do if any relatives showed up at their doorstep. Kate tells him to focus on the present, saying, “The boat didn’t get here yet. I can’t deal with boats that haven’t landed yet” (51). Nora approaches and tries to join the conversation to discuss the Broadway show with Jack. Blanche tries to send her away, telling her it seems like a bad time. Nora becomes overwhelmed and frustrated. She feels that Blanche is hindering her because she refuses to make a decision and is limiting who can. Exasperated, she swears to make the decision herself. Jack follows her, hoping to have a conversation. Kate pulls him aside and tells him that Nora needs a father right now. As Jack leaves, Blanche begins judging herself, saying that the grief of losing her husband is impacting her ability to parent. When Jack catches up to Nora, he tells her, “I know what it’s like, Nora. Not to be heard” (53). He shares stories about his own family, and the two take a walk to the beach so he can give advice.

Meanwhile, Stanley and Eugene are talking in their bedroom. Eugene coyly mentions having a weird dream about a girl. Stan immediately recognizes that Eugene is referring to a wet dream and explains that everyone has them. Stanley explains the basics of puberty to Eugene and says he’s seen him “whack off.” Eugene is embarrassed, but Stan tells him everyone from girls to President Roosevelt does it. Stanley tells him that boys have an obligation to share this information with each other. As Eugene begins asking about girls, Stanley tells him that he knows about Eugene’s feelings for Nora. He says that it’s wrong to be in love with your cousin but admits to looking in the bathroom and seeing Nora naked. Stanley refuses to describe her in detail but says, “All I can tell you is I was pretty miserable she was my first cousin” (59).

Elsewhere in the house, Blanche and Kate discuss the six-year anniversary of Dave’s death. Kate expresses regret at not being able to visit his grave with Blanche and the rest of the family. Blanche grieves that the passage of time is taking more and more of her memories of him. Kate is worried about Blanche and says that she and Jack want to invite Blanche to his company party so she can meet eligible bachelors. Blanche refuses, admitting that she plans to get dinner with Mr. Murphy, their neighbor from across the street. Kate is upset and doesn’t trust him because he’s Irish. She says the Irish kids in the neighborhood used to beat up Eugene and Stanley and that they have a reputation for being womanizers. Blanche says she and Mr. Murphy have taken a walk together and that he was nothing but kind. She says she hasn’t considered marrying him, but she feels bad about having lived off Kate and Jack for so long. She is unable to hold a job because of her deteriorating eyesight and asthma and needs to think about how to provide for herself. She promises that getting to know him won’t hurt anyone, and Kate concedes. She says she invited him to pick her up so Kate can meet him, which she’s wary about.

Nora returns from her walk with Jack and determinedly approaches Kate and Blanche to ask about the audition. She insists Blanche makes the choice. Jack tells the family he suggested that Nora finish high school—if she truly has talent, the jobs will still be there in the future. As a high school dropout himself, he says his options were incredibly limited by his lack of education. Nora retorts, saying she could eventually buy them their own house and pay back Jack and Kate for their kindness. Blanche still tries to get her to listen to Jack, but Nora says he offered her advice and didn’t make a decision. When Blanche says she can’t go, Nora says she’ll sleep on it and come to her own decision. Nora thanks Jack for his advice.

Upstairs, Laurie and Nora talk about what to do. Laurie offers to lie and say she’s been getting sicker, but Nora tells her to never lie about her condition for her benefit. Nora says the only way she’ll be able to make decisions for herself is to move out. She and Laurie make a pact to save all their money to buy a place of their own. Nora vows to never live as a boarder again.

As Jack and Kate try to fall asleep, Jack bemoans the state of their life: “When does it get easier, Kate? When does our life get easier?” (68) In the midst of his emotional turmoil, Stanley enters the room and says he urgently needs to talk to Jack. He admits that he got fired and that he’s trying to decide what to do about writing the letter. Jack says he has to keep the job and that the family can’t get by without it. He admonishes Stanley for not telling him sooner. However, Jack is torn after Stanley gives a better account of his circumstances. On one hand, Stanley’s boss has been good to the family. However, he is proud that Stanley’s first instinct was to defend Andrew and stand by his principles. Jack says that it was noble of him to be the only one standing up for Andrew, but he really shouldn’t have swept the dirt on his boss’s shoes. According to Jack, the main issue is that adhering to principles could be costly. Stanley agrees that the family needs his financial support. He also notes that Eugene would be required to take a part time job, which could put his future college education at risk. They both agree that Eugene would benefit from higher education. Jack apologizes for not being able to send Stanley to college, but he promises that he finds work fulfilling. Satisfied with the conversation, Stanley returns to his room. He gets out pen and paper to write the letter, but then asks Eugene help writing it. Eugene agrees on the condition that he provides a vivid description of what Nora looks like naked, and the act ends in the middle of Stanley’s description.