The Butler Little Theatre is preparing its final show of the season, “Brighton Beach Memoirs” by Neil Simon.

This semi-autobiographical play contains the Eugene trilogy in the first chapter. It precedes Simon's classics “Biloxi Blues” and “Broadway Bound.”

The BLT show is being directed by Bob Dandoy and produced by Sue Collar and Janet Groger.

Simon's words paint a portrait of the writer as a young teen in 1937 living with his family in a crowded, lower middle-class Brooklyn wall-up.

In addition to the normal trials of being a Jewish teen during the late '30s, Eugene deals with his widowed Aunt Blanche, her two young (but rapidly aging) daughters and Grandpa the Socialist, all making for hilarity, Simon-style.

The role of Eugene will be played by Cody Nagle of Butler Township, a ninth-grader at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School.

“I would describe Eugene as a typical teenager,” said Cody, who is learning how to slow his speech for the role.

“It's a PG-13 play about a boy living together with his family plus his aunt and cousins. Eugene is just becoming a teenager so you know that means puberty,” he said, alluding to some comedy in the show.

Eugene's aunt will be played by Samantha Drohan, also of Butler Township.

“Blanche is a widow forced to move into her sister's house with her two daughters after her husband died,” said Drohan, who is a real life mother of teenage girls. “Like Blanche, I struggle with making the right decisions and choices for them. It's hard.”

She notes that Simon's writing is very realistic.

“Since taking on the role of Blanche, I find that my real life is filled with these 'Blanche moments' when I am having discussions with my own kids that feel so much like the ones I have on stage,” Drohan said.

One of Blanche's daughters, Laurie Morton, will be played by Molly Miller of Butler. She is a classmate of Cody's at Lincoln Park.

Molly said she believes her smart-aleck ways and sassy attitude come in handy for this role.

“My character is a 13-year-old girl who's very smart for her age. She has a condition where she gets 'flutters' in her heart and can't do heavy work. Nothing gets past her; she always knows what's going on,” Molly said.

Molly last took to the stage as JoJo in “Seussical the Musical” with Butler Summer Dramatics. “The most challenging aspect of this role is being reactive and being a careful observer like my character is,” she said.

Bob Dandoy is scratching this show off his bucket list as he's been longing to direct it, he said.

He saw the show years ago in Pittsburgh and recently found the program. “Looking at the cast, I saw that the then unknown Patrick Dempsey (Derek Shepherd on 'Grey's Anatomy') played the part of Eugene,” Dandoy marveled.

His love for Simon's work added to his desire to direct the show. “In places, the play is outrageously funny. In other places, it really is powerful drama, truly my kind of script,” he said.

This is Dandoy's 13th Neil Simon work in which he's either directed or acted. He thinks the show has mass appeal.

“There will be moments of both laughter and tears. We hear so often that plays should remind us of ourselves. Never more true than this play when we should be able to see our own families in the Jerome family,” Dandoy said.

Dandoy also is confident that audiences will be pleased with the “look” of the play with the set designed by Paula Slomer and built by Art Black. Costumer B.J. Herr and set decorator Kris Bearer are rising to the challenges of a play set in the Depression, Dandoy said.

The show also features Greg Crawford, Renee Cuerden, Olivia Drohan and Jordan Meals.

WHO: Butler Little TheatreWHAT: “Brighton Beach Memoirs”WHEN: May 8 to 16, at 8:15 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and ThursdayWHERE: One Howard St.TICKETS: $12, available by calling 724-287-6781 between 7 and 9 p.m. Mondays through FridaysINFO: www.bltgroup.org