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Tom Brokaw refers to them as "The Greatest Generation." Certainly those born in the period 1915-1927 were destined to live in a challenging time–a time of great social and political changes in the midst of an exploding industrial revolution. As children they experienced the high life of the 1920s. As teenagers they suffered through The Depression. Then, as they entered manhood or womanhood, they were swept up in one of the most important events in the history of man–World War II.
Marvin Neil Simon was on the trailing edge of that generation. Biloxi Blues, the middle play of Simon's trilogy about his coming of age in the 1940s, relies heavily on his own experience as a young Army Air Force recruit. Simon was once on a train to Biloxi, Mississippi, where he went through Basic Training. He felt himself ill-suited for Army life, and found Army terminology to be mind-boggling. Biloxi Blues is hardly a valentine to the military, but the humanity of the men of that time and an appreciation for what they accomplished comes through loud and strong in this very funny but poignant play.
The most successful playwright of our time has generated many popular plays, but few of them have received great critical acclaim. Biloxi Blues was an exception. It was unanimously critically acclaimed and won Tonys for best play and best director (Gene Saks). The dialogue of Biloxi Blues is true to the type of conversation that enlisted men of all generations have used, and this may make some in our audience uncomfortable at times. If we have done our job properly, however, any discomfort will be overcome as you discover the strength and good qualities in each of the play's characters.
Two full generations have passed since World War II, and the marvelous actors in this production realize they are portraying members of their grandparent's generation. In some cases, they have grandfathers who served in the Second World War. These people were not super human--in fact, they were much the same as young people are today. The difference was these men were going off to war being told that the very future of their country and their world depended on them. They must have wondered, "Could that possibly be true?"
Two generations later, we can tell them with certainty, "Yes, it was true."
Bob Christiansen