Inclusive Theater of WNY (ITOWNY) Presents Powerful Play by Tom Griffin, The Boys Next Door
Inclusive Theater of WNY, in collaboration with St. Mary’s High School, Lancaster, proudly presents Tom Griffin’s THE BOYS NEXT DOOR. Performances take place April 13-16 & 21-23, 2023 at St. Mary’s High School in Lancaster. THE BOYS NEXT DOOR is the story of four men with various disabilities who live in a group home. One has anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder and works as a janitor, another works in a donut shop and has a prized collection of keys, a third cannot read but proudly shows off his library card along with a stack of books he has borrowed, and the fourth, who has schizophrenia, believes that he is a pro golfer.
The play, written in the 1980s, is set in modern day and illuminates issues that are still relevant today in a world of labor shortages, low-paid work, and staffing fatigue that impact the lives of persons with disabilities and those who work with and for them. The play is appropriate for teens and older.
Mingled with scenes from the daily lives of these four men, where “little things” sometimes become big ones (and are often quite funny), are moments of great poignancy when, with touching effectiveness, we are reminded that persons with disabilities, like the rest of us, want only to love and laugh and find meaning and purpose in their lives. THE BOYS NEXT DOOR explores friendship, love, and loss in ways universal to us all.
Directed by Matt Boyle and produced by Inclusive Theater of WNY with rights secured through Dramatists Play Service, THE BOYS NEXT DOOR includes veteran WNY actors Bob Bozek as Arnold, Dan Barone as Barry, Dallas Taylor as Lucien, Steven Branch as Norman, Jason Gonser as Jack, Penny Striker as Sheila, Stacy Kowal as “the women,” Bill Baldwin as “the men,” and Tony Shannon as Mr. Klemper.
General admission tickets are priced at $15; Seniors/student tickets are $10. Tickets available online https://m.bpt.me/event/5737324?fbclid=IwAR3PeA-Dg1onOh584P1PoF41YIpBoOP2wpmudW2wtlgzZwTl1kK-D_pzW5I and will also be sold at the box office starting an hour prior to show time.
MISSION OF ITOWNY: Inclusive Theater of WNY (ITOWNY) seeks to reimagine our society through producing original scripts in our ongoing writing group and writing workshops, utilizing existing plays, and through the production and performance of those scripts with actors who are chosen solely on their ability and passion. Our dream is not only to be a place where diversity is the norm, but also to challenge societal perceptions of difference and begin to create a world in which people are accepted and encouraged to contribute to society, no matter their age, physical condition, race, nationality, or gender.
Inclusive Theater of WNY (ITOWNY) 