FUNNY FINALE: Stone Arch Players conclude season with ‘The Boys Next Door’
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LEWISTOWN -- What do a box of Wheaties, doughnuts, golf and a public library card have in common?
Nothing, except one of these items is extremely important to each of the four main characters in the Tom Griffin play, "The Boys Next Door."
The emotional, heart-warming and hilarious series of vignettes chronicles the escapades of four developmentally challenged roommates. The Stone Arch Players' production, their season finale, opens a three-week run at the Theatre in the Park at Kishacoquillas Park in Lewistown on Friday, May 5.
"We want to recognize the persons and agencies in our community, who work day-in and day-out to provide care with dignity to those with disabilities," Director Colette Hartzler said. "We join with these agencies in embracing inclusion for persons with disabilities."
In a group home in the Boston area, the four men live under the supervision of an earnest, but increasingly burned out young social worker named Jackie Palmer (Abby Fleming). Palmer serves as narrator between vignettes. Each of the men faces a major dilemma during the two-hour production.
Norman Bulansky (Jim Shannon) works in a doughnut shop and is unable to resist the temptation of sweet pastries, and he takes great pride in the large bundle of keys that dangle from his waist. He is faced with deciding between his love for doughnuts - which keep him overweight - or his affection for Sheila (Allison Echard), who wants him to be thinner.
Lucien P. Smith (Bryan Henry) has the mind of a five-year-old but imagines that he can read and comprehend the weighty books he lugs around. He must stand before the state senate to justify his continued need of government aid.
Arnold Wiggins (Brandon Smith) is the ringleader of the group, who is a hyperactive, compulsive chatterer who suffers from apparent deep-seated insecurities and a persecution complex.
Finally, Barry Klemper (Barry Gibson Jr.) is a brilliant schizophrenic who is devastated by the unfeeling rejection of his brutal father, fantasizes that he is a golf pro. He now struggles with the prospect of seeing his father for the first time in nine years.
"The Boys Next Door" blends scenes from the residents' daily lives - where little things become both momentous and comical - with moments of great poignancy, reminding us that those with disabilities are like everyone else, wanting only to love, laugh and find some meaning and purpose in life.
"We recognize the efforts of the social workers, case workers, management, staff and volunteers who care for others and also need to take time to care for themselves," Hartzler explained.
"While employees in many fields experience burnout, social service professionals are particularly susceptible because of the high levels of empathy required by their jobs," she added. "They also experience the stress of working with clients who are often in crisis. It is intrinsic to their work that the social workers strive to ease their clients' suffering, which can lead to the workers' emotional and physical depletion."
Rounding out the cast are Chris Woods as Mrs. Fremous, Mrs. Warren and Clara; and Tom Torquato as Mr. Hedges, Mr. Corbin and Sen. Warren Clark.
Though the things the characters say and do in the show are comical, the show never makes fun of the mentally handicapped. It's hard not to laugh at the antics of the group, especially when Arnold, Lucien and Norman are chasing what they believe to be a rat around their home in the middle of the night.
Audiences can catch "The Boys Next Door" at the Theatre in the Park, Kishacoquillas Park in Lewistown, at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, May 5-6, May 12-13 and 19-20; and at 2 p.m. on Sundays, May 14 and 21.
General admission tickets cost $12. Ticket requests can be made by calling (717) 248-2224 or by e-mailing tickets4sap@gmail.com.