Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 18, 1991 TAG: 9104180123
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JEFF DeBELL STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
They are "The Boys Next Door."
The show opens Friday after previews Wednesday night and tonight at the theater in Center in the Square. Mary Best-Bova, in her first main-stage assignment since returning from maternity leave, is directing.
"The play is a living example that there is achievement, there is success for handicapped individuals," she said. "It's a positive example for anyone who has a handicapped child. It shows that there is hope that these people can live on their own."
Written in 1983, the show had its genesis in stories told to the playwright by a roommate who was a social worker in a home like the one portrayed in "The Boys Next Door."
Bova first saw it in St. Louis while directing "Children of a Lesser God" there in 1989.
"I was blown away by the piece," she said. "It's a beautifully written attempt to show a lifestyle with lots of humor and hopes, aspirations and dreams, but within the state of being mentally handicapped."
For the audience, she said, its achievement is to confront the "fear" that typifies the response of many people to the mentally handicapped.
"This play breaks that barrier," she said. "It shows that you don't need to be afraid. There is so much laughter in the play, and the fact that we laugh breaks the fear barrier."
Bova is quick to point out that the jokes are never condescending or cruel to the mentally handicapped characters. Rather, they grow out of everyday life within a household whose inhabitants find joy and dignity in day-to-day activities that others might take for granted.
In preparing for the play, Bova and her cast consulted with the staff and clients of a Roanoke Valley group home similar to the one in the play. She said she hopes the members of Mill Mountain's audiences will reassess their feelings toward the mentally handicapped after seeing "The Boys Next Door."
The title characters are played by Daniel Cantor, Andrew Cooksey, D.C. Patterson and James Bunzli. Scott McKinley portrays the social worker who supervises the household while struggling with his own burnout, and Maude Mitchell plays a mentally handicapped woman who has a romantic relationship with one of the men in the home.
Jeff Berger plays the father of one of the men, and Tricia Givens and D. Michael Berkowitz each carry a number of supporting roles. Everyone except Givens has appeared previously on Mill Mountain's main stage. She is remembered for a vivid performance in "The Dropper" during last year's Norfolk Southern Festival of New Works in Mill Mountain's Theatre B.
Now in her fifth season on Mill Mountain's artistic staff, Bova is the theater's resident director. Her credits there include "The Glass Menagerie," "True West," "The Road to Mecca" and "Blood Knot" (starring McKinley and Cooksey).
Scenery and lighting are by John Sailer, Mill Mountain's resident designer, and Cindi Raebel is stage manager.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday; 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday; and 2 p.m. on weekend matinees. Discounts are available to students, senior citizens and groups of 15 or more. Half-price tickets called Hot Tix are available at the box office from 6 to 6:30 p.m. before weeknight performances and from 6:30 to 7 p.m. on weekends. Hot Tix are available for cash only and cannot be reserved.
THE BOYS NEXT DOOR At Mill Mountain Theatre through May 5. $11-$14. 342-5740.
by CNB