Product Description

Winner of the 1985 Tony Award for Best Play, the second hilarious installment of Neil Simon's acclaimed autobiographical trilogy follows a naïve Eugene Jerome through boot camp in Biloxi, Mississippi. His sadistic drill sergeant-who might just be nuts-is only part of Eugene's awakening journey in which he encounters an odd and eclectic group of fellow recruits, and his first experiences with sex and love. In the end, our young, aspiring writer takes away more than just his basic training. This production features an exclusive interview with the prolific playwright. Starring Justine Bateman, Josh Radnor, Rob Benedict, Joshua Biton, John Cabrera, Matthew Patrick Davis, Steve Rankin, Russell Soder, Darby Stanchfield

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #368497 in Books
• Published on: 1998-12-31
• Binding: Paperback
• 98 pages

From Library Journal
Biloxi Blues continues Simon's dramatization, begun in Brighton Beach Memoirs , of Eugene Morris Jerome's adolescence and young manhood. The sequel follows Eugene and his fellow recruits through basic training at an Army base in Biloxi, Mississippi in 1943. Eugene's rite of passage has its basis in the playwright's own experiences. One expects humor from this writer and is not disappointed, but a more sober side is also revealed. The script is after all about a young man's education in the real world, and the reader is always aware of the fearful adventure awaiting the recruits. Though its form and theme break no new ground, the play evokes a nostalgic feeling for its period and elicits genuine response to its characters. The winner of the Tony award for best play in 1985, this belongs in most public and academic libraries. Theodore O. Wohlsen, Jr., Connecticut State Lib., Hartford
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
Joyous and unexpectedly rewarding! --New York Times

About the Author
Neil Simon is one of the world s most popular and acclaimed playwrights. His succession of Broadway hits includes BAREFOOT IN THE PARK, SWEET CHARITY, LAST OF THE RED HOT LOVERS, BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS, BILOXI BLUES, BROADWAY BOUND, RUMORS, JAKE S WOMEN and LONDON SUITE. He has won the Tony Award for Best Play three times, including LOST IN YONKERS, which also garnered him the Pulitzer Prize. He is commercially the most successful playwright in history, with more than 30 shows on Broadway, including four that ran concurrently, a distinction afforded no other author. A first revival of BAREFOOT IN THE PARK, the 1963 comedy inspired by his first marriage, recently opened on Broadway starring ANGELS IN AMERICA s Patrick Wilson and Amanda Peet (Syriana, Something s Got to Give). Simon has adapted nearly all his plays for the big and small screen, including an Oscar-nominated screenplay for The Odd Couple in 1969. Born in The Bronx on the Fourth of July 1927, Simon settled in Manhattan as a young man after fulfilling his obligation to the Air Force Reserve. In 1946, he took a clerical job with Warner Bros. in New York and began writing comic material for the likes of Sid Caesar, who saw his potential and tapped him for his writing staff on Your Show of Shows , the landmark 1950s television series. Simon would win an Emmy for his contribution to the show, and another for his work on The Phil Silvers Show . In 1995, he received a Kennedy Center Honor for lifetime achievement. In addition to a recording of THE PRISONER OF SECOND AVENUE in 1999, L.A. Theatre Works has recorded four of his other plays: CHAPTER TWO, PLAZA SUITE, BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS, LOST IN YONKERS and THE ODD COUPLE.

Customer Reviews

Neil Simon uses comedy to it's fulist
I feel that neil simon is one of the best playwrights ever. His play Biloxi Blues shows his talent to express what he knows most about comedy. I'm not much of a reader but I give this play a thumbs up definetly!!!

Like M*A*S*H but for real
Biloxi Blues was the second of the 'Memoir' trilogy that I read. I laughed out loud most of the time which is odd. Usually when an author is trying to be funny...it's not. Simon can express his sense of humor in a way that is actually humorous. I didn't know it could be done! I'm not an avid reader, and maybe it's because of this lack of humanity and stupidity that I am repelled. I plan to finnish this trilogy as soon as I can get my hands on 'Broadway Bound.' "HO!"

Great book for small time readers!!!
This book is about a young Jewish man Eugene Morris Jerome and his thoughts and trials through the United States Army in the early 1940's during World War 2. In the beginning Eugene sets out to accomplish three goals while he is on his journey through the army. The three goals were to become a writer to have sex for the first time and most impotant of all not get killed.
In my opinion this is a very good book for the person who isn't really into the long drawn out novel type of books. This book isn't a book for virgin ears or in other words in some cases the reading gets kind of vulgar. Yet at the same time Neil Simon also does something I have never had happen to me before. He really stunned me when he not only made the book feel so real and personal, in some cases but he also challenged me and in the end really made you think about what just happened.
This book is for any gender male or female who are mature in there own sense. Neil Simon goes all out from the males point of view in the 1940's and in the army. It not only is very funny and amusing to read but also gives you the reader a good look on what goes through a guys head. It is very interesting, yet so true and personally (in its hundred and some pages which is very cool in its own right) I found myself wanting to read more and I couldn't put the book down. So for all the readers out there who love straight to the point literature that is not only hilarious to read but has a truth to it this book is for you.