Granite Theatre shines light on inclusion in upcoming production

Arts & Culture Editor

WESTERLY — Staging "The Boys Next Door" — Tom Griffin's critically acclaimed 1986 play about four neurodiverse men living in a group home — may present challenges in 2023, but it's a challenge that was embraced wholeheartedly by the Granite Theater's Nicole DiMattei.

DiMattei, the Granite's artistic director, said soon after she accepted the position last winter, she sat down to have a closer look at the schedule of plays that had already been selected, and paused when she saw "The Boys Next Door" on the list.

While the play — which opens Friday at the Granite — remains one of the most popular plays of all time about people with neurodiversity, DiMattei — the production manager for the play — said staging the "The Boys Next Door" for audiences in a new century is tricky. So much has changed within the disability community since the 1980s that not only language about disabilities has changed but also the way disabilities are understood.

"The Boys Next Door" was considered to be somewhat progressive when it first opened "per the social landscape of its time," according to scholar Shelby Lewis, who said that "never before had a play shown various sides of the morals, hopes, fears, dreams, failures, feelings of anger, and sincere romantic desires of individuals with disabilities.

"Rather than focusing on the characters’ perceived impairments as something that defined them," Lewis said, "this play allowed universal, human complexity and achieved unprecedented success despite a subject matter that had been generally considered uncomfortable to speak about."

And while "The Boys Next Door" remains, as Lewis writes, "a ripe tool for spreading disability consciousness," some of the language Griffin used in 1986 is outdated and can be hurtful to people living with intellectual disabilities.

In 2008, Special Olympics — the world’s largest movement dedicated to promoting respect and human dignity for those with intellectual disabilities — launched the website www.r-word.org to combat the inappropriate use of the "R-word" in common usage.

In 2010, President Barack Obama signed “Rosa’s Law,” which changed “mental retardation” to “intellectual disability” in US federal law. Inspired by nine year-old Rosa Marcellino, the law was a key component in the groundswell of advocacy efforts promoting inclusive, people first-language for people with intellectual disabilities, according to Special Olympics.

"The Boys Next Door" makes frequent use of "R-word," which adds a layer of controversy in the staging of the play. But, as Lewis said, staging the play can "be constructive if handled with respect and thoughtfulness."

DiMattei, always aiming to be respectful and thoughtful, sought to to have a cast and creative team with as many neurodivergent people as possible for the Granite's production of "The Boys Next Door."

"It was really important to me, when telling this story, that we focus on inclusion," said DiMattei, who said she wanted to make sure that everyone involved with the production "had a good understanding of where the characters are coming from" in Griffin's play.

"I'm proud to say that we succeeded in that endeavor," said DiMattei. "Our team consists of people with dyslexia, Asperger's, OCD, and Tourette's, as well as neurotypical individuals with close ties to people with more extreme disabilities."

"This is going to be a wonderful production," said Ally Altman of Groton, who is directing the play that has been described as "a touching and humorous look into the lives and relationships between four male roommates with special needs, living under the watchful eye of compassionate, but 'burned out,' caretaker." "I am so excited to be directing."

A longtime music teacher who for many years owned "Fearless Flyers Academy" — an indoor flying trapeze and aerial arts school that was located in Mystic — Altman said she herself has dyslexia, a language-based learning disability. Working with people in the neurodivergent community is a "strong point" for her, she said.

"Not everyone learns the same way," she said one recent evening before a rehearsal. "If someone doesn't understand a direction, I'll just find a different way to say it."

For instance, she said, she doesn't use "stage left" and "stage right" when directing, but instead uses directions like, "go toward the table," or "walk to the window."

"You adjust every day to things anyway," added Altman. "That's how it is in real life."

As far as the dated script and use of the "R-word," Altman said keeping the play set in 1986 and keeping the words used by the playwright were important to her.

"We can't just ignore that we did and said bad things, or were less accepting of people," she said. "I think we can learn from it and become better people."

Griffin, the playwright, was a Rhode Island native, a University of Rhode Island theater program alumnus and resident member of the Trinity Repertory Company who died in 2018 at the age of 72.

"I write serious plays that are funny," Griffin said in a 1988 interview with The Providence Journal.

According to his obituary, Griffin had a "brilliant and quirky mind," and was "funny with a sly sense of humor," and "a penchant for ironic statements."

Altman said she has had many "heartfelt conversations" with the cast about disabilities and disability awareness.

"Anxiety is also a disability," she explained, as is post traumatic stress disorder, which can often be brought on by abuse.

"There's a character in the play that definitely has PTSD," Altman said, "so we've had many conversations about triggers too."

"Theater can be therapeutic," she said, "whether you're watching it or part of it."

Actor Stephen Palermo, who plays the role of Arthur Wiggins, said his character has obsessive-compulsive disorder and attention-deficit disorder.

"He's a very nervous guy," said Palermo, "and has to make sure everything is in order."

Palermo, a Granite veteran who has performed in "Man of La Mancha" and "A Christmas Carol," said he feels "very connected" to his character, as he himself deals with anxiety issues.

"I take mental health advocacy very seriously," said the 2019 Chariho High School graduate. "This is a play that shows people that essentially we are all the same ... we are all human beings."

Elias Sandlin of Stonington, who plays the role of Jack Palmer, the able-bodied case worker who oversees Arnold and his housemates — Lucie, Norman and Barry — said he thinks it was important to keep the show as it was written in the 1980s.

"We know so much more about mental illness today," he said, applauding Altman and DiMattei for keeping Griffin's language as he wrote it.

"Mental health is an issue near and dear to my heart," said Sandlin who played the role of Algernon Moncrief in last season's "The Importance of Being Ernest" at the Granite. "I have a family member who lives in assisted living, so this is personal for me."

Sandlin said his character uses the "R-word" in the play, albeit in the context of the now-dated term for a medical diagnosis.

Actor Bill Corriveau — who played Otto Frank in the Granite's unforgettable production of "The Diary of Ann Frank" — plays the role of Norman, the "doughnut freak" in "The Boys Next Door."

His character works in a doughnut shop, said Corriveau and eats doughnuts "all day, every day."

There's a "fine line" when portraying a character with a disability, he said, but he thinks people will "love Norman."

"He's got hopes and dreams like all of us," said Corriveau, who also applauded Altman and DiMattei for their inclusivity. "I think people will get it ... I hope they understand."

DiMattei also worked with New Heights, a Pawcatuck-based, vocationally centered training program for neurodiverse adults, to find ushers and people to help with costumes.

Jane Mandes — who recently dazzled audiences with her portrayal of Miss Adelaide in the Granite's recent production of "Guys and Dolls" — is the costume designer for "The Boys Next Door" and the associate director of New Heights.

Mandes recruited one of her students, 19-year-old Brooke Kelley of Stonington, to help with the costumes. On a recent Monday evening, shortly before rehearsals began, Mandes and Kelley sat together inside the theater discussing the costumes for the show.

Mandes said Kelley, who hopes to live independently one day, is working on the "vocational skills that will contribute to her success."

"I like merchandising," said Kelley, who also helped find dresses for the dance scenes in "Guys and Dolls" and enjoys researching the time periods the plays took place.

Thanks to the internet, Kelley made a discovery about 1986, one that audience members should be able to notice right away, Mandes said, due to the "hideous bright green color."

"I found out what a power suit looks like," Kelley said with a laugh.

"The Boys Next Door" opens Aug. 11 and runs through Aug.26.

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