The Boys Next Door: Act 1

So far, this play is absolutely hilarious. I was captivated from the opening lines. I really enjoyed seeing how each character's personality is coming out as the play unfolds. The author of the play has a way of making each character extremely funny but without making fun of their disabilities.

The golf scene with Mr. Hedges was amazing. I was laughing so hard that my mom who is visiting kept asking me to read portions aloud to her. I love when Barry says, “Hit that little rounds sucker as viciously as you can.” I could totally visualize the entire scene.

Norman's love for his key ring reminded me of many of my autistic friends. A lot of them have something that the love that they do not ever want to give up. One of my best friends from high school had Asperger's and used to tote around several different sci-fi books with him everywhere he went. He was a lot like these guys: very friendly, but unfortunately easy to take advantage of.

I like how Jack takes care of the men. He isn't mean to them, but gives them wings to do things in the mainstream world. When he told Arnold to take everything back to the grocery store, I really appreciated that. He did not do it himself, but he gave Arnold the opportunity to learn and grow on his own.

There are so many quirks about each individual character that really stood out to me. The way the characters, especially Arnold, repeat themselves is really funny. Overall, it seems that the author did a lot of ground work with learning disabled people because he really knows what he is talking about. I have spent time working with children who are exceptional learners. I have many stories that are like those in this play. While the stories are hilarious, they are also endearing. Griffin is just so good at not writing about these characters like he is making fun of them. It seems like many of these scenes could be put right into real life.