Eugene Jerome
Eugene is almost fifteen years old and is the youngest child in an extended Polish Jewish family living in Brooklyn, New York. Eugene is going through adolescence, and finding that his life is complicated by the onset of puberty and his cousins moving into his family's home, both of which occur at the same time. Going through puberty is complicated by his feelings for his older cousin, Nora, who is beautiful, sexy and charismatic As taken as he is with Nora, he is equally annoyed with Laurie, his other cousin, who is largely incapacitated. He ends up having to do both Laurie's share of chores and his own which he quietly resents.
Eugene wants to be a professional baseball player, and this dream occupies most of his thoughts.
Kate Jerome
Kate is an archetypal Jewish mother. She is around forty years old, vibrant, capable and the wearer of the pants in the Jerome household. Kate keeps the family together and also makes sure that everyone is pulling their weight in the home, aside from Laurie whom never asks anything of because of her heart palpitations.
Kate knows what she thinks is right and will not deviate from her beliefs or opinions. One of these opinions is that her sister should not date their neighbor because he has an alcohol problem which she hugely disapproves of.
Jack Jerome
Jack is finding the influx of relatives into his home extremely stressful and it is also detrimental to his health, not because he finds it hard to get along with the family - generally he seems to like them and get along well with them at home - but because their moving in has created a financial issue within the household, and has to take on a second, stressful job in order to bring enough money home to support everyone. His primary job is also very stressful and consequently his health is being negatively affected by the familial changes he is experiencing. Although he is the "man of the house" he is largely managed by his wife. Jack is an honorable, hard-working man who feels a huge responsibility to take care of his family.
Stanley Jerome
Stanley has just turned eighteen as is already finding that the workplace is not always a fun place, at least, not when you are the youngest employee and your boss is a tyrant. He has recently stood up to his boss and this has not gone down well at his job. He is experiencing some difficulties and worries that he might lost his job, which is worrying since the wage he brings in is something that his family have come to rely upon. He and Eugene have a traditional sibling relationship, in that they bicker and are rivals but also feel a strong bond and loyalty to each other.
Laurie Morton
Laurie is the younger of the Morton sisters. She is Eugene's cousin and has recently moved into his home because of her father's death. Laurie has heart palpitations and although she is probably perfectly capable of helping around the house, uses her medical issues as a reason for sitting out chores. She is a source of continual annoyance to Eugene and the two do not have an easy relationship.
Nora Morton
Norah is beautiful, charismatic and has stars in her eyes. Her dream is to be a dancer on Broadway, but it is unlikely that she will be able to pursue this goal because her family will need her to get a solid, reliable job and contribute to the household. She is aware that Eugene has a crush on her and sometimes exploits this to her own advantage.
Aunt Blanche Morton
Aunt Blanche is recently widowed. She is also a little deaf, which makes communicating with her a bit of a hit and miss affair. She has decided that the best way to get over losing her husband is to begin dating again and the object of her desires is the family's next door neighbor, of whom Kate is extremely disapproving because of his issues with drinking. This does not seem to put Aunt Blanche off dating him and this determination causes more than a little friction in the family.
