WARSAW — There is no doubt that Neil Simon is absolute champion of  theatrical one-liners.

It is a title he won first in 1961 with “Come Blow Your Horn” and cemented forever in ’65 with the seeming indestructable “The Odd Couple.” If his touch has waned in recent efforts, it was at its height in a trio of plays that combined his spot-on wit with bittersweet nostalgia. The semi-autobiographical Eugene Trilogy began in 1983 with the best of the three plays, “Brighton Beach Memoirs.”

As currently reincarnated at the Ramada Wagon Wheel Theatre, it is a real tribute to Simon’s ability to turn the ordinary moments in everyday life into theatrical gems that cannot help but strike a familiar chord in everyone, no matter the ages.

Nora (Ashley Tisdale, center) delivers her news to family members (from left) Laurie (Tara Rusinack), Kate (Jennie Sophia), Blanche (Jen Dow) and Eugene (Cameron Carter) in this scene from the Wagon Wheel Theatre production of Neil Simon's "Brighton Beach Memoirs."

The script is only half of the complete package. The actors portraying each character must be believable and honest in bringing their roles to life and making the written word natural. All meet this challenge very successfully . . . and with just the right touch of Brooklyn in their delivery.

The title says it all. “Brighton Beach Memoirs” is set in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn, N.Y. and the “memoirs” are narrated by Eugene Morris Jerome (an amazing Cameron Carter). It is 1937 and, for the family of Jack and Kate Jerome (Michael Yocum and Jennie Sophia) times are hard. Living with the Jeromes and their sons Stanley (Adrian Aguilar), 18, and Eugene, 14, are Kate’s widowed sister Blanche Morton (Jen Dow) and her daughters Laurie (Tara Rusinack), 13, and Nora (Ashley Travis), 16.

Things are literally too close for comfort and the fraying dynamics of family relationships are delineated with familiar Simon humor and  dramatic friction.

Eugene faces the hardships of being the family scapegoat stoically  and with long-suffering weariness. He always knows what’s coming. Although he is not the youngest, Laurie has a “fluttering” heart which she plays for maximum effect when the occasion arises and which the petite Ms. Rusinack does to a perfectly bratty ‘T.’ Instead, he escapes in his dreams of playing for the New York Yankees or becoming a writer. In the grip of puberty and raging hormones, he expects to take the blame for anything and everything, fantasizes about Nora and only hopes to see a naked woman before he dies.

For help in realizing this fantasy, he turns to Stanley, who has problems of his own.  Being one of the family’s two breadwinners, Stanley is on the verge of losing his job because of standing up for a fellow employee but solves this crisis of conscience only to face an even more disastrous one — gambling away the paycheck on which the family relies and facing his  ailing father with the news.

The multi-level connection between the brothers is played expertly  by Carter and Aguilar who manage the evening’s most sustained laughter as Stanley explains Eugene’s wet dream and the universality of “whacking off,” a fact the young teen is horrified to believe, especially when applied to their father and even President Roosevelt.

Stanley Jerome (Adrian Aguilar, right) gives his brother Eugene (Cameron Carter) the gift of a lifetime.

The adults have problems of their own. Kate is increasingly resentful of having to carry the burden of two families while Jack is upset at losing his second job, without which that burden will become insurmountable. Blanche feels the resentment but is unable to break away or to make any decisions for herself or her daughters. Nora is furious when her proposal to quit school and try for a theatrical job receives negative responses. No surprise that the anger and resentments boil over before peace is restored.

The triumph of family is executed masterfully by Simon and the excellent WW ensemble with the guidance of directors Ben Dicke and Andy Robinson who find the heart of this beginning and leave the audience definitely wanting more.

“Brighton Beach Memoirs” plays through Aug. 22 in the theater at 2517 E. Center Street, Warsaw.  For performance times and tickets call 267-8041 or (866) 823-2618 or visit www.wagonwheeltheatre.com.