Sample Activities / Learning Standards

Downloadable Production Guide (.pdf)

In Brief

Written by Jack Neary, Jerry Finnegan's Sister is about a boy named Brian Dowd who grows up living next door to the girl of his dreams, Beth Finnegan, his best friend's sister. Together, Brian and Beth go through the ups and downs of puberty, adolescence, young adulthood and dating. The play explores the differences between boys and girls, men and women and how the two interrelate at different stages of life.

At the beginning of the play, Brian finds out that Beth Finnegan is about to be married, motivating Brian to finally tell Beth how he feels. But not before bringing the audience up to speed about how the bratty six year old next door grew to be the woman of his dreams.

Brian takes the audience on as his confidants and ushers them through a number of incidents in his life. He promises that before the performance has ended, he will finally tell Beth how he feels.

The actors play the characters as children, adolescents, teens, and young adults in familiar coming-of-age scenarios that both students and teachers can relate to. As the play progresses, anticipation builds and audience members find themselves so involved in Brian’s plight that they invariably roar with delight at the curtain call!

This romantic comedy is a guaranteed crowd pleaser.