The Prisoner of Second Avenue, by Neil Simon, was presented by The Potomac Community Theatre recently at the Bullis School in Potomac, MD
Prisoner is the story of Mel and Edna Edison, a typical husband and wife from the 1970s. Mel loses his job and eventually has a mental breakdown due to his feeling useless. Edna then goes back to work to support them, making Mel feel even worse about the entire situation. The play has a happy ending, but the moral of the story is that the pressures of being in the rat race can eventually drive you nuts (and we see this as Edna starts resembling Mel just before his breakdown at the end of the play).
The play is beautifully crafted and contains many lines that ring true even today. Although the play is mostly about the two main characters we get a glimpse at Mel's quirky siblings who add immensely to the overall tone of the play. The performaces by Ron Sarro as Mel and Andrea Morenoff as Edna are what make this play work.
This is definitely a show worth seeing, both for the philosophical insight it offers and its humour. Simon continues to be a true master of his craft.