History Theatre / TheBoysNextDoor

The play is a {{Dramedy}}, many episodes combine the situational and slapstick comedy that occurs from the absurd situtations that inevitably follow from the group home resident's attempts to interact with and adjust to the outside world. However, several other scenes take a more tragic turn, such as Barry's strained relationship with his abusive father, or in what may be the play's most memorable moment, a scene where Lucien steps out of character and tells the audience what he would say if he had the mental ability and eloquence necessary to fully understand and articulate his plight.

The play was especially popular with local and school theaters during the 1990s, and was adapted in 1996 as a Hallmark Hall of Fame tv movie directed by the prolific Creator/JohnErman. Appearing in the film were Creator/TonyGoldwyn as Jack, Creator/MichaelJeter as Arnold, Creator/NathanLane as Norman, Creator/RobertSeanLeonard as Barry, Creator/CourtneyBVance as Lucien, and Creator/RichardJenkins as Barry's father.

The play has no connection to the 1985 film ''The Boys Next Door'' starring Charlie Sheen, about two teenagers who go on a cross-country murderous crime spree.

* {{Catchphrase}}: "I'm Lucien P. Smith and I mean business."

** "Nyet" (Russian for "No") with Arnold whenever he's flustered.

* AdaptationalSympathy: Downplayed in the case of Barry's father. In the TV movie, Barry's father is verbally abusive, but unlike in the play, he isn't shown to be physically abusive towards his son. Additionally, Mr. Klemper never uses racial slurs towards Lucien in the movie.

''The Boys Next Door'' is a play by Tom Griffin, first published in 1983 under a different name (and subsequently reprinted in 1988 under the present title).

Griffin's play shows a series of episodes in the lives of four mentally disabled men who live together in a group home and are looked after by the put-upon social worker Jack. The group home residents vary in the form and severity of their handicaps. Arnold has very mild cognitive deficits, but he suffers from manic depression and obsessive behavior. Barry is a young man with schizophrenia, living in a world of delusions where he is, among other things, a professional golfer. Norman is moderately mentally handicapped but is still capable of working in a donut shop and taking basic care of himself and the house. The most severely mentally disabled resident of the home is Lucien, who has (at best) the cognitive abilities of a five year old and has difficulty with basic self-care and with understanding even the simplest concepts or situations.

* MoodWhiplash: The play goes from slapstick comedy scenes (such as the boys' attempts to catch and kill the hamster they mistake for a rat) to later scenes showing Barry's relationship with his abusive father.

* SoundtrackDissonance: In the TV movie, during the ridiculously comical scene where the four "boys" catch and kill the neighbor's hamster, thinking it's a sewer rat, and flush it down the toilet, a noble-sounding excerpt of the knight's processions from Music/RichardWagner's ''Parsifal'' plays.

** In the play, Jack is divorced, and his vindictive ex-wife never misses an opportunity to belittle him when they do speak. In the movie, while Jack and his wife are having marital difficulties, they see a marriage counselor and seem to work out their difficulties to stay together.
** While Barry's father is verbally abusive towards him in the movie, he isn't physically abusive.

* SoundtrackDissonance: In the TV movie, during the ridiculously comical scene where the four "boys" catch and kill the neighbor's hamster, thinking it's a sewer rat, and flush it down the toilet, an excerpt of the knight's processions from Music/RichardWagner's ''Parsifal'' plays.

The play is a {{Dramedy}}, many episodes combine the situational and slapstick comedy that occurs from the absurd situtations that inevitably occur from the group home resident's attempts to interact with and adjust to the outside world. However, several other scenes take a more tragic turn, such as Barry's strained relationship with his abusive father, or in what may be the play's most memorable moment, a scene where Lucien steps out of character and tells the audience what he would say if he had the mental ability and eloquence necessary to fully understand and articulate his plight.

* AdaptationalSympathy: Downplayed in the case of Barry's father. In the TV movie, Barry's father is verbally abusive, but unlike in the play, isn't shown to be physically abusive towards his son.

The play is a {{Dramedy}}, many episodes combine the situational and slapstick comedy that occurs from the absurd situtations that inevitably occur from the group home resident's attempts to interact with and adjust to the outside world. However, several other scenes take a more tragic turn, such as Barry's strained relationship with his abusive father, or in in what may be the play's most memorable moment where Lucien steps out of character and tells the audience what he would say if he had the mental ability and eloquence necessary to fully understand and articulate his plight.

''The Boys Next Door'' is a play by Tom Griffin, first published in 1983 under a different title (and subsequently reprinted in 1988 under the name that it's known by today).

Griffin's play shows a series of episodes in the lives of four mentally disabled men who live together in a group home and are looked after by the put-upon social worker Jack. The group home residents vary in the form and severity of their handicaps. Arnold has very mild cognitive deficits, but he suffers from manic depression and obsessive behavior. Barry is a young man with schizophrenic delusions. Norman is moderately mentally handicapped but is still capable of working in a donut shop and taking basic care of himself and the house. The most severely mentally disabled resident of the home is Lucien, who has (at best) the cognitive abilities of a five year old and has difficulty with basic self-care and with understanding even the simplest concepts or situations.

* BreakingTheFourthWall: In the scene where Lucien is called before the State Senate to evaluate the need for social programs for the mentally handicapped. Lucien has absolutely no concept of what is going on and can do little more than talk about his Spiderman tie or attempt to recite the alphabet. However, during this scene he steps out of character and says what Lucien would say if only he had the intellect and eloquence to communicate his plight as a mentally handicapped man:

* TerrifyingPetStoreRate: In-universe, when the neighbor's pet hamster is mistaken for a sewer rat by Arnold, Norman, Lucien, and Barry.

* MoodWhiplash: The play goes from slapstick comedy scenes (such as the boys' attempts to catch and kill a rat) to later scenes showing Barry's relationship with his abusive father.

* VerbalTic: "Oh boy" for Norman, "Nyet" (Russian for "No") with Arnold.

Griffin's play shows a series of episodes in the lives of four mentally disabled men who live together in a group home and are looked after by their caretaker Jack. The group home residents vary in the form and severity of their handicaps. Arnold has very mild cognitive deficits, but he suffers from manic depression and obsessive behavior. Barry is a young man with schizophrenic delusions. Norman is moderately mentally handicapped but is still capable of working in a donut shop and taking basic care of himself and the house. The most severely mentally disabled resident of the home is Lucien, who has (at best) the cognitive abilities of a five year old and has difficulty with basic self-care and with understanding even the simplest concepts or situations.

Griffin's play shows a series of episodes in the lives of four mentally disabled men who live together in a group home and are looked after by their caretaker Jack. The group home residents vary in the form and severity of their handicaps. Arnold has very mild cognitive deficits, but he suffers from manic depression and obsessive behavior. Barry is a young man with schizophrenic delusions. Norman is moderately mentally handicapped but is capable of working in a donut shop. The most severely mentally disabled resident of the home is Lucien, who has (at best) the cognitive abilities of a five year old and has difficulty with basic self-care and with understanding even the simplest concepts or situations.

Meanwhile, Jack, despite his love and care for the men, is burned out by the 24x7 responsibility of looking after his charges and makes plans to find a job outside of social work. Needless to say, the men under his care do not take his departure well.

The play is a {{Dramedy}}, many episodes combine situational and slapstick comedy due the often absurd misunderstandings that arise from the group home residents' interactions with one another and the outside world. However, several scenes take a more tragic turn, such as one scene showing Barry's strained relationship with his abusive father, and another scene where Lucien steps out of character and tells the viewer what he would say if he had the mental ability and eloquence necessary to understand and explain his plight.

* AdaptationalSympathy: Downplayed in the case of Barry's father. In the TV movie, Barry's father is verbally abusive towards him but doesn't hit him.

Meanwhile, Jack, despite his love and care for the men, is burned out by the 24x7 responsibility of looking after them and makes plans to find a job outside of social work. Needless to say, the men under his care do not take his departure well.

* BreakingTheFourthWall: In the scene where Lucien is called before the State Senate to evaluate the need for social programs for the mentally handicapped. Lucien has absolutely no concept of what is going on and can do little more than talk about his Spiderman tie or attempt to recite the alphabet. However, during the same scene he steps out of character and says what Lucien would say if only he had the intellect and eloquence to communicate his plight as a mentally handicapped man:

* BreakingTheFourthWall: In the scene where Lucien is called before the State Senate to evaluate the need for social programs for the mentally handicapped, he has no concept of what is going on and can do little more than brag about his Spiderman tie or attempt to recite the alphabet. However, during the same scene he steps out of character and says what Lucien would say if only he had the intellect and eloquence to communicate his plight as a mentally handicapped man:

Meanwhile, Jack, despite his love and care for the men, is burned out by the 24x7 responsibility of looking after them and is looking to find a job outside of social work.

-->''Lucien'': I stand before you a middle-aged man in an uncomfortable suit, a man whose capacity for rational thought is somewhere between a five-year-old and an oyster. [pause] I am retarded. I am damaged. I am sick inside from so many years of confusion, utter and profound confusion. I am mystified by faucets and radios and elevators and newspapers and popular songs. I cannot always remember the names of my parents. But I will not go away. And I will not wither because the cage is too small. I am here to remind the species... of... the species. I am Lucien Percival Singer. And without me, without my shattered crippled brain, you will never again be frightened by what you might have become. Or indeed, by what your future might make you.

Griffin's play shows a series of episodes in the lives of four mentally disabled men who live together in a group home and are looked after by their caretaker Jack. The group home residents vary in the form and severity of their handicaps. Arnold has very mild cognitive deficits, but he suffers from manic depression and obsessive behavior. Barry is a young man with schizophrenic delusions. Norman is moderately mentally handicapped but is capable of working in a donut shop. The most severely mentally disabled resident of the home is Lucien, who has (at best) the cognitive abilities of a five year old and struggles with basic self-care and to understand even the most rudimentary concepts or situations.

* Catchphrase: "I'm Lucien P. Smith and I mean business."

* Cloudcuckoolander: All of the group home residents have strange fixations due to their mental condition.

!!This film provides examples of:

The play is a {{Dramedy}}, many episodes combine situational and slapstick comedy due to the group home residents' interactions with one another and the outside world. However, several scenes take a more tragic turn, such as one scene showing Barry's strained relationship with his abusive father, and another scene where Lucien steps out of character and tells the viewer what he would say if he had the mental ability and eloquence necessary to understand and explain his plight.