Neil Simon’s "Biloxi Blues", at its core, is a comedic, albeit topical, coming-of-age exploration of toxic masculinity, wartime xenophobia, and romantic tension in a World War 2 era.
Performed with confident ease by a largely male ensemble, paired with expert direction and clear intention by Gary Boyer, Neil Simon’s sequel to the notable Brighton Beach Memoirs manages to stand on its own at the Pennsylvania Playhouse, effectively and rather evocatively.
Believability, particularly in plays dealing with mature thematic elements, is arguably the most relevant factor to consider when critiquing this production.
With that said, Biloxi Blues successfully transports, and inherently challenges, the audience into the quick-witted, Simon-y, yet uncomfortably claustrophobic, landscape of Biloxi, Mississippi.
Eugene Morris Jerome, the snarky lead brilliantly portrayed by Jack Miller, packages this World War 2 dramedy in a memoir-style, and highly relatable, delivery.
From the outset, Jack creates a gentle, self-aware, portrait of such a multilayered character. The streamline confidence that Jack possessed when spewing out his memoir interludes, or his understanding of comedic beats and when to animate Neil Simon’s rich text, he proves to give an inspired performance.
In a scene where Eugene’s fellow soldiers uncover his “secret-keeping” journal, his memoir, Jack truly transcends the emotional naivety that he begins with at the start of the play. In achieving this, the young actor, working off the delivery of his equally impressive peers, engraves a deeply moving performance in the audience’s collective mind.
The play’s most pivotal character, the intelligently complex Arnold Epstein, was also positively polarizing in this demanding role. Recent Freddy Awards winner, the mesmerizing Cody Jackson, captures not only the essence of the play, but the essence of Epstein’s character as well. 
Tracing back to the idea of believability, it was in no way a struggle to feel Jackson’s portrayal of wartime tensions, both in his pain-tinted facial expressions to his unsure posture. His vocal delivery, too, brought Simon’s text to a deeper level of despair, a deeper level of thought. Jackson’s dexterity as an actor, then, truly managed to consistently shine throughout this three-hour performance. Not an easy feat to engage an audience for that long, not at all.
Rounding out the remainder of the electrifying, and kinetically intense, male ensemble were Kristian Henriksen Shen as the jerky, although oddly charming, Joseph Wykowski, Chris D’Imperio as Roy Selridge, Gabriel Craig as Don Carney, Brian Keller as proposed antagonist, Merwin J. Toomey, and Senoll Donley as James Hennesey.
While each of these men above showcase an impassioned performance and are far more deserving than just a simple critique blurb, they really work best when onstage together, moving as a unit. The undeniable chemistry between these actors, with functionally clashing spouts of angry and comedic dialogue alike, the whole thing just works. Considering the difficulty of the text and the memorization that may come with that, Gary Boyer crafted this male-heavy drama, and these exceptional performers, to near-perfection. Each one of these men, again, deserve to be dutifully recognized, infinitely applauded, and earnestly studied, for their controlled, and charisma-induced, character development.
Jennifer Russoli as Rowena and Rebecca Cain as Daisy interrupted Neil Simon’s masculinity parade with brief, yet stirring, supporting performances. Russoli added some necessary humor, with great maturity and sureness that is, to a bedroom exchange in which Eugene is exploring his unexplored sexuality. Cain, fresh-faced and appropriately nasally, added a sweet energy to the production that strayed from the more aggressive tone that carried throughout. Both women, proving that there is no small part in theatre, made their mark and they did so efficiently, elegantly, and with a splash of feminine finesse.
Brett Oliveira and Kristen Wettstein, the Fred and Ginger of set and lighting design, elevated this production with their incredibly mobile, and rather creative, scenery. A highlight being the moving beds that transitioned between scenes seamlessly. Overall, it felt thought-out, not clumsily executed, and smart.
Costume design by Paula Hannam felt timely to the show’s period. Lighting and sound by Chris Fiegel flowed effortlessly without any noticeable issues. Carrisa Coppolino, lastly, stage-managed, and assembled, a swift team that handled scene transitions with seeming ease.
“Biloxi Blues” will continue through Feb. 21, 22, and 23rd. 7:30pm and 3:00pm on Sunday. Tickets: $25. Senior/Student discounts may apply. Purchase tickets at paplayhouse.org or call (610)-865-6665.