Valley Breeze Review of ‘The Boys Next Door’
‘The Boys Next Door’
By FRANK O’DONNELL Valley Breeze Entertainment Writer
WOONSOCKET - Tom Griffin’s “The Boys Next Door,” now on stage at The atreWorks, tells the story of four mentally challenged men living together in one apartment. It’s sort of a cross between “The Odd Couple” and “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest,” flipping often from comedy to drama and back.
Arnold (Kevin Broccoli) is in charge -just ask him. He’s nerdy, nervous and extremely particular - and sees a conspiracy lurking around every corner.
Lucien P. Smith (Joe Casey) “be proud about his library card,” because he likes hard books. Not the ones that are hard to read - the ones with hard covers. When we first meet him, he’s carrying a set of yearbooks from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Norman (Chris Kibbe) works at a donut shop and has packed on 15 pounds thanks to the free ones he’s received since starting there. His keys are very special to him, and his girlfriend Sheila (Pat Hawkridge) is after them.
Barry (Ryan Hanley) is the smartest of the group, but not entirely sure who he is. At the moment, he’s a golf pro “on the tour,” offering lessons at $1.13 an hour. It soon becomes clear that his problems deserve treatment beyond anything he can get in this group setting.
Jack Palmer (Greg Bonin) is the caseworker responsible for the boys, but he’s got troubles of his own. He’s not very happy with his lot in life, or with the contribution he’s making to the world.
And perhaps that’s the point of the piece - everyone’s got troubles, but not everyone gets pigeonholed and warehoused like these four boys.
The show starts out very funny. Arnold greets the audience and tells how he lives here in this group apartment with three other guys - then holds up six fingers to show us how many that is.
He’s just come back from the market, where the clerks trick him into stocking up on Wheaties so he bought 19 boxes.
A wacky scene follows, as the boys try to hide the excess cereal from Jack.
There are funny and sweet scenes between Norman and Sheila, neither of whom really knows how to deal with another human all that well, let alone a representative of the opposite sex. Their innocence is touching, in a bittersweet way.
There is a brutal and unsettling exchange between Barry and his estranged father (Ron Mutton) that really changes the dynamic of the show. It’s effective and well done, but troubling.
As the sometimes narrator, Jack is supposed to be the voice of reason - but he provides more questions than answers.
Broccoli and Hawkridge deserve special applause for their portrayals. They really disappear in their respective roles, and are completely believable without resorting to stereotypes.
“The Boys Next Door” may not be a fun night at the theater, but it’s a good night at the theater.
