The Boys Next Door
Oct 2nd, 2003 - Nov 23rd, 2003
Directed by Kerry Meads
 
Arnold Wiggins Paul Maley
Lucien P. Smith Keith Jefferson
Barry Klempner Nick Cordileone
Mr. Klempner Doren Elias
Mr. Hodges, Mr. Corbin, Senator Clarke Tom Stephenson
Mrs. Fremus, Mrs. Warren, Clara Veronica Murphy Smith
Jack Palmer Jon Lorenz
Sheila Deborah Gilmour Smyth
Norman Bulansky Robert Smyth
 
 
Scenic Design Mike Buckley
Costume Design Jeanne Reith
Lighting Design Nate Parde
Properties Design Cecelia Church
Properties Design Chrissy Reynolds-Vögele
Stage Manager Michael S. Lowe
 
"Staging a comedy about four mentally challenged men isn't easy, It's a tall order, but director Kerry Meads solidly delivers the goods in a heartwarming and hilarious production. The performances are exceptional. The Smyth's show their range, transforming amazingly from the witty and urbane Elyot and Amanda in Private Lives just a few weeks ago, to Norman and Sheila, a mildly retarded middle-aged couple very much in love."
- ( North County Times )
 
"Poignant, but comical... An incredible play that will leave you wanting to hear more about 'the boys.'... It was well after intermission before I realized that Sheila was played by Deborah Gilmour Smyth. The same actress who played a passionate, sophisticated divorcee in last month's Private Lives, now plays a shy, wistful, mentally disabled woman in love...The play was over before I realized the lovable Norman was played by Robert Smyth."
- ( Pomerado News )
 
"Without ever using the patronizing word 'special,' Boys depicts the terrors and elations of unconditional innocence, which may indeed be the happiest and saddest condition of all."
- ( San Diego Reader )
 
"The Boys Next Door will win your hearts over. Watching these men, performed to perfection, is like being tossed into a world that many of us have never experienced."
- ( San Diego Jewish Times )
 
"Lamb's Players Theatre presented the local premiere of the play a dozen years ago, and I never quite got it out of my mind. The play manages to touch us at the core: we feel empathy, sympathy, sadness, guilt — and humble gratitude too."
- ( KPBS )