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| 4 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, February 13, 1990 Brighton Beach Memoirs Rehearsals well underway | for Borelians production Eugene Morris Jerome is a boy on the edge of manhood. At 15 years old, he is stum- bling through the first signs of masculinity, is noticing girls for the first time, and is stunned when he learns President Roosevelt went through all the same symptoms of growing up. Eugene Morris Jerome is the lead character in Neil Simon's hit comedy "Brighton Beach Memoirs." The play, the first of Simon's semi-autobiographical trilogy, will be performed by the Bore- lians Community Theatre later this month. The play is set in Brighton Beach, New York in 1942 and evolves around Eugene's Jew- ish extended family: parents Jack and Kate, brother Stanley, widowed Aunt Blanche (her husband died of cancer), and cousins Nora and Laurie. Eugene performs many asides during the play which give the audience a greater in- sight into him and the other characters. What makes the performance of the Borelians' production of "Brighton Beach Memoirs" so unlike previous productions of the play is that the awkward teenaged boy is played by a girl. Oshawa native Autumn Smith is thrilled to have the chance to play Eugene Morris Jerome. This isn't the first time the self-professed tomboy has played the opposite sex, but it may be her biggest challenge. One tough scene involves the two brothers talking about the "birds and the bees" in their bedroom. Older brother Stan- ley -- played by Borelians vete- ran Steve Foote -- gives Eugene a shot from the hip lesson on male puberty. Neil Simon minced no words when composing this scene as some of the subject matter will make the brazen blush. "It's funny," Miss Smith says about the scene, "because, you know, you don't talk about this with anybody." "It's a tough subject when you're in puberty, but I know I candoit." Kari Townsend portrays the asthmatic Aunt Blanche. And director John Francom has the same sense of confi- dence in Autumn. "She plays a great boy," he told the Star, but the whole suc- cess behind the play will depend on how believeable the bedroom sceneis. The scene "requires the act- ing ability of two young males but I think these fine actors can pullit off," Mr. Francom said. And he's probably right. Physically, Autumn looks like a boy -- with a little help, of course. Her long brown/blonde hair is tied up and held under a New York Yankees baseball cap, and her physical femininity is held in, thanks to a tensor bandage. This is Autumn's first perfor- mance with the Borelians, but the talented actress has 23 plays under her belt -- or tensor bandage. Most of her work has been with the Oshawa Little Theatre's Youth Group. Steve Foote (brother Stan- ley), a local product, has done a large degree of his work on the Town Hall 1873 stage with the Borelian Community Theatre. His most recent appearance was Biff in the Arthur Miller's : I ro RK ht Re Real life husband and wife team John and Louise Lukia "Death of a Salesman." Other roles include "Shadow Box", "Jitters", "The Passion of Dra- cula", and a Whitby Courthouse Theater production of "Picnic." Eugene and Stanley's par- ents are played by real-life hus- band and wife team John and Louise Lukianchuk. Mr. Lukianchuk, who has di- rected numerous musicals in Toronto and Durham, has ap- peared on stage as the King in "The King and I", Daddy War- bucks in "Annie", and opposite wife Louise in "Prisoner of Sec- ond Avenue." Mrs. Lukianchuk has played Linda Loman in "Death of a Salesman", Anna in "The King and I", and starred in "Come Back to the Five and Dime Jim- my Dean, Jimmy Dean" at the Whitby Courthouse Theatre. Local talent Kari Townsend, who plays the asthmatic Aunt Blanche, has done most of her theatrical work behind the scenes creating special effect make-up for theatre and films, including the Scugog Choral So- ciety's original production of "Anne Bonney." Ms. Townsend has also writ- ten a stage play which has been adopted for the screen and staged at York University in To- ronto. Mr. Francom said the chemis- try between characters Kate and Blanche is extremely good. "There's one scene where Kari (Blanche) and Louise (Kate) strike sparks off each other," he said. Patti Gallant plays the devel- oping 16 year old cousin of Eu- gene. A student at Durham Col- lege, Ms. Gallant is excited to be on stage after recently doing the sound work on "Death of a Salesman." "Patti hasn't been on the stage much," Mr. Francom told the Star, "but she's been around helping everybody (on other sets). "This is a great chance for Patti to get started on, with a good part," he said. Marsi Lukianchuk is Nora's younger sister Laurie. The character, who claims to have a heart condition, has a knack for slyly getting cousin Eugene in 3 3 aly 4 UDUNGL Cant Ny ¥ nchuk play parents Jack and Kate Jerome. hearsal of a Beach Memoirs i be" : P + Cn rg J *, PP Aa. LY A A ARERR Yn y 9 Ho LI Ye Autumn Smith plays Eugene Morris Jerome, a 15 year old boy who is going through puberty. trouble. Although Miss Lukianchukis still in public school, she has a longlist of credits already to her name including Gretl in "The Sound of Music", Molly in "An- nie", and arolein "Oliver." As for Mr. Francom, this is his first time round as an artis- ticdirector. His most recent appearance was the Stage Manager in Oshawa Little Theatre's pro- duction of "Our Town." He has also performed in "You Can't Take it With You" and "Kis- met." During a recent rehearsal -- the first without scripts -- Mr. Francom was firm with his ac- tors (he made Autumn repeat Director John Francom watches his actors during a re- lines when he thought some of the script's words were being lost in the New York accent). But he also can keep on top of his job, a task that he says he couldn't do without the help of producer Norma Van Camp. "It's a dirty job, but somebody has to doit," she says. Showdates for the cabaret are Feb. 22-24 and March 1-3. Cur- tain time is 8 p.m. at the Town Hall 1873. Tickets are $9 and can be purchased at Cottage Rose/Just Around The Corner or at the door. Parents are cautioned - that the play contains some mature subject matter and strong lan- guage. The play is not suitable for children. in i