How does Brighton Beach Memoirs relate to history?

Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs is set in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, in 1937. That year sets the drama between two important times in American history: the end of the Great Depression and the beginning of World War II.

The impact of the Depression is most clearly seen in the character of Jack Jerome, Eugene's father. In order to support his family during this troubled time (including his widowed sister-in-law and her two daughters who have moved into his house), Jack is working two jobs: one as a clothing cutter and one selling party favors. But, indicative of the hard times still facing the country, the party favors business has closed. To support his family, Jack will later take another job that contributes to his having a heart attack. Meanwhile, Eugene's older brother Stanley is also working a job while living at home, providing another important income. When he gets fired, it's a problem not just because the income is lost, but because during this time period it's not easy to find another job.

It's also important to remember that this is a time-period when women did not really work, particularly middle-aged mothers. As we see Kate and Blanche do in the play, their role was to keep house, cook, and watch after the children.

The darker aspects of World War II, and particularly the Holocaust, are evident, as well. Jack is upset about what he reads in the papers about Hitler and the Nazis. While in 1937 Hitler has yet to begin making a huge power grab in Europe, as a Jewish family in a Jewish neighborhood, the Jeromes are already receiving snippets of information about the troubles faced by European Jewry. Kate mentions their neighbor, Ida Kazinsky, and the stories she hears of her family's troubles in Poland. And the play ends with word that some extended family has fled Hitler's anti-Semitism and is coming to live in the already crowded Jerome house. Once again, the coming crisis in Europe also affects Stanley. His father has talked about the probability that America will be drawn into a conflict, and that gives Stanley the idea to run off and join the army in Act II.

History is present in other, smaller ways as well. For example, Eugene's favorite baseball players are from his era; and references are made to then-President Roosevelt.

Ultimately, Brighton Beach Memoirs is a portrait of a particular kind of family living during a particular time in American history. Though it is ultimately a family drama, no family is immune to the time and place in which they live. Part of Neil Simon's skill with this play -- and one of the reasons it has endured for so long (consistently produced for 33 years and counting) -- is how he makes the specifics become universal, so that the play's themes still speak to audiences today.