Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 19, 1991 TAG: 9104190114
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRIS GLADDEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"The Boys Next Door" deals with a sensitive subject - the mentally handicapped. Any writer, director or group of actors who tackle it do so at great risk. On the one hand, attempting to bring humor to such a subject is ripe with the potential to offend. On the other, attempts to gain audience sympathy can push the material toward the bathetic.
Fortunately, this is a well-written piece by Tom Griffin in the hands of a fine cast and sensitive director. The result is a play with plenty of honestly achieved humor and sentiment. Only when the principals step out of character to express feelings and execute dance steps that their characters would be incapable of doing does it strike any false notes. But these unnecessary bits of point-making are rare moments so this is just a minor quibble.
The story focuses on four mentally handicapped roommates who are being mainstreamed into society and the sympathetic social worker who struggles to bring order to their lives.
Lucien P. Smith is the most severely handicapped, a mentally-retarded man who is described as somewhere between an oyster and a five-year-old in his mental processes. Andrew Reynolds Cooksey gives an impressive performance, bringing courage and dignity to a man who can barely string two words together.
Daniel Cantor plays Arnold Wiggins, the foursome's spark plug. Arnold is borderline retarded and has other mental problems as well. But he's the take-charge guy of the bunch even if his reasoning isn't exactly linear. Daniel Cantor is a delight in the role.
D.C. Patterson, in one of his best performances to date on a Mill Mountain stage, plays the gentle Norman Bulansky - a donut addict who courts Sheila (Maude Mitchell), a retarded woman, at the weekly dances.
Barry Klemper is perhaps the most poignant of the four. He's a schizophrenic who retreats from the problems createdby a viciously abusive father (Jeff Berger) into a fantasy world built on sports. Barry is under the delusion that he's a golf pro and gives lessons for $1.13 each. James Bunzli, an excellent actor with an impressive capacity for comedy, brings subtle humor and profound sadness to this emotionally wounded man.
Scott McKinley plays Jack, the empathetic social worker who tries to cope - not always successfully - with the frustrations of giving these men a facsimile of a normal life. McKinley is a natural and convincing actor who illuminates Jack's perspectives with insight and intelligence.
Tricia Givens, in a variety of minor but effectively-acted roles, rounds out the cast.
The show - which mainly unfolds in the apartment of the four men - is crisply directed by Mary Best-Bova, who never allows any of the proceedings to go over the top.
"The Boys Next Door" is an invigorating show that underscores the difficulty of daily survival among the mentally handicapped and affirms the dignity and courage of those who attempt it outside of institutions.
Performances continue through May 5 at Mill Mountain Theatre in Center in the Square on the Roanoke City Market. $11-$14. 342-5740.
by CNB