[1] The play is a coming-of-age comedy[2] focused on the main character of Eugene Morris Jerome, a Jewish teenager[3] from a Polish immigrant family.

Brighton Beach Memoirs is the first play in what is known as Simon's Eugene trilogy,[7] and was followed by Biloxi Blues (1984) and Broadway Bound (1986).

Scenic design was by David Mitchell, Costumes were by Patricia Zipprodt and lighting was by Tharon Musser.

[10][11] Cast replacements included Fisher Stevens, Doug McKeon, Jon Cryer, Robert Sean Leonard, and Jonathan Silverman as Eugene and Elizabeth Perkins, Josh Hamilton, Stanley Tucci, Anita Gillette, Patrick Breen, Dick Latessa and Verna Bloom in other roles.

[16] Despite generally positive reviews from New York critics, Brighton Beach Memoirs closed on November 1, 2009 after nine performances and 25 previews due to weak ticket sales.

Downstairs, Blanche tells Kate that she plans to go on a dinner date with a neighbor, Frank Murphy.

Stanley tells Eugene that he has lost his entire week's salary playing poker; he is despondent.

Kate tells Stanley to turn over his pay to her so that she can give the money to Blanche in case an emergency arises during her date.

Frank Murphy's mother sends Blanche a note indicating that her son will not be available for their date because has been hospitalized following a car accident that occurred while he was driving drunk.

Blanche resents Kate's lack of empathy for Frank's issues and Kate claims Blanche shows lack of empathy for Jack, who nearly killed himself for the sake of Laurie's weekly doctor visits, and Nora's dance lessons.

Blanche ultimately decides she wants to move in with a friend, get a job, and find lodging for herself and her daughters so that she will no longer be dependent on her sister and Jack.

Jack receives a letter stating that his cousin and his family has escaped from war-torn Poland and are headed to New York City.

Clive Barnes of the New York Post called Brighton Beach Memoirs Simon's "best play yet" but also "a slight disappointment" because the playwright "always pulls back from the jugular.

"[24] Frank Rich of the New York Times judged the play to be "a pleasant evening" that "never quite stops being nice and starts being either consistently involving or entertaining.

"[13] In 1983 Dolores Dolan of The New York Times said that after it achieved popularity on Broadway, the community of Brighton Beach "attracted some notice" when it had historically "receive[d] little attention".

There were no big stars like Jude Law in the current commercial hit 'Hamlet,' there was no marketing campaign that framed the Simon play as a can’t-miss theatrical event, and there was no wow factor that brought the period piece to life, like the breakneck pacing of the popular farce 'Boeing-Boeing' last year.

It actually received good reviews, but the play was shuttered because people, for whatever reason, did not want to see the Simon show about a Depression-era family laughing through the tears.

The cast featured Jonathan Silverman (Eugene), Blythe Danner (Kate), Bob Dishy (Jack), Lisa Waltz (Nora), Brian Drillinger (Stanley), Stacey Glick (Laurie), and Judith Ivey (Blanche).

[citation needed] Roger Ebert, in his review for the Chicago Sun-Times wrote: "The movie feels so plotted, so constructed, so written, that I found myself thinking maybe they shouldn't have filmed the final draft of the screenplay.