Campus Calendar

Montana Repertory Theatre, "Biloxi Blues"

Date: Thursday, February 14, 2013
Time: 7:30 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Location: Schaller Memorial Chapel
Contact: Tom P. Musel
Contact E-mail: muselt@bvu.edu

Biloxi Blues is a comedy about young men going off to war. These men are universal soldiers facing the same fears, anxieties, and loneliness that grip all young recruits about to encounter the ultimate test of combat. Mr. Simon brings his great sense of humor and humanity to every word of this magnificent play.

Years later, when I was directing another of Mr. Simon's plays, Broadway Bound, for Montana Rep, I asked the playwright for advice as I approached the material. He advised me to "always play [the scenes] as real as possible and don't try to make them funny. The funny takes care of itself in the text." That, combined with Gene Saks's advice, has guided my direction of comedy ever since.

Biloxi Blues is the middle play of the autobiographical Simon trilogy. Beginning with Brighton Beach Memoirs and ending with Broadway Bound, Mr. Simon explores the life and times of Eugene Morris Jerome as he struggles to find an outlet for his talents and his way in the world. These three plays mark a high point in the career of a master writer. We are very fortunate and proud to once again bring Neil Simon to our national audience with one of his masterpieces, Biloxi Blues.

Greg Johnson, Artistic Director, Montana Repertory Theatre

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