Stage characters offer lessons for real families
The polished the dining room table until it shone. It had been willed to her by her grandmother, and it was a labor of love. The focal point of her home. The place where the family gathered for dinner and shared their daily experiences. Marty Latz Special to Jewish News Mom, Dad, Stanley, Jerome, and Grandpa. It could have been our family around our round kitchen table in Minnesota. But it wasn't. It was Neil Simon's family, set in 1949 Brooklyn, as portrayed in the Arizona Jewish Theatre Company's production of Broadway Bound. A pretty typical Jewish home in the late 1940s, you might say. Dad worked as a laborer in the garment industry. Mom kept the house and raised the kids. Stanley, the oldest, sold clothes in a department store, and Eugene (a.k.a. Neil) worked in a stockroom. Grandpa was a devoted socialist. But all was not well beneath the gloss of the dining room table. Dad was dissatisfied with his life as a laborer and his marriage. Stanley and Eugene were struggling comedy writers observing their parents' deteriorating relationship and using it in their sketches. And Grandpa couldn't put aside his political views to accept his daughter Blanche, who was married to a wealthy capitalist. Politics. Intra-family relationships and challenges. And constant one-liners. A thoroughly enjoyable and typical Neil Simon play. Also, a play with several serious messages. Grandpa believed everything was somehow "political," even his relationship with his rich daughter. He viewed life through the lens of haves versus have-nots. His rich daughter disagreed, stating a "family that loves each other takes care of each other." If this means some conspicuous consumption to make life easier, so be it. I mostly agree with Blanche. Taking care of one's family must be the first priority. But Grandpa also has a point. Once the family is comfortable, we all share a social responsibility to help others. Another theme running throughout the play revolved around doing what you enjoy vs. doing what you "need" to do. Mom said early in the play that "you don't keep a roof over your head doing what you want." This attitude kept food in the fridge when it was most needed. But it also effectively kept Mom and Dad from fully supporting Stanley and Eugene's budding comedy careers. In the beginning, neither Mom nor Dad could really understand Stanley and Eugene's dissatisfaction with their steady jobs and regular paychecks. They had once faced this choice, and they had chosen the more secure and risk-averse route. Mom gave up dancing, and Dad stuck as a laborer despite having the opportunity to strike it out on his own. They both sacrificed things they enjoyed, to do what "they had to do." I don't disagree that this may have been the right choice for them. Sometimes one has a responsibility to do certain things that one may not enjoy, and may even actively dislike. But one must always maintain some balance and continue to engage in enjoyable and stimulating activities. Otherwise, in the long run, constant dissatisfaction will negatively affect all one's closest relationships. Eugene asked his mom near the end of the play why she always stopped doing the things she liked. Mom didn't really respond. Instead, she started polishing the dining room table. The dining room table was beautiful, dark, natural wood. It was lovingly carved by Eugene's great grandfather, and it was made to last. It did. But it required constant upkeep, care and loving attention. So do many other things, including family relationships. Marty Latz is a Valley attorney and negotiation consultant. Anyone with comments can write to him via e-mail at mlatz@negot.com. 
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