BROADWAY SNAP-SHOT
by Russell Bouthiller

Dateline: March 9, 2005

BROOKLYN BOY

You can take the boy out of Brooklyn, but you can't take Brooklyn out of the boy. Such is the premise of Pulitzer Prize-winner Donald Magulies' new play, BROOKLYN BOY, which opened at Manhattan Theatre Club's Biltmore Theatre. Starring Adam Arkin as Eric Weiss, a kid from the neighborhood, moving up does not necessarily mean moving forward in personal and spiritual growth.

BROOKLYN BOY opens in a Maimonides Hospital room where Eric visits his father, Manny (Allan Miller), who is in the end stages of cancer. A one-time shoe salesman, Manny has difficulties relating to his son's dazzling lifestyle. He scoffs at the dedication in Eric's new best-selling novel, "Brooklyn Boy," which reads: "To My Parents." Manny complains that he and his wife ought to be credited by name. One senses that Manny irritates his son for the satisfaction of winning a tiny skirmish as his hopes of prevailing in the final battle fade.

Next we meet Ira Zimmer (Arye Gross), a nebishy, boyhood chum. Ira's life hasn't changed since they knew each other as children. He works at his father's delicatessen and lives with his wife and children in the home where he was raised. Wowed by his buddy's fame and success, Ira inquires about a character in Eric's novel, one whom he feels is based on him. Eric refuses to concede this, insisting that "Brooklyn Boy" is not autobiographical.

But, Ira turns the tables on the savvy, somewhat disdainful Eric. Grounded by his Orthodox faith and resigned to his commonplace existence—well, as resigned as nice Jewish from Brooklyn can be—Ira's simplicity points up what has gone missing in Eric's life. His marriage to Nina (Polly Draper) has eroded irreparably. His failure to understand his father's implacable nature leaves him perplexed. And, Eric refuses to accept that he is a product of his environment, to the point that he cannot admit his book is autobiographical. Ira's very existence is everything from which Eric has distanced himself. Yet, absent all the riches and comforts of the fast-track lifestyle, Ira has found a wholeness through spiritual clarity.

By the end of the play, Eric takes his first step forward. But, Margulies has provided a few enlightening, if somewhat cliche, scenes along the way. Case in point: Eric's meeting with a film producer, Melanie Fine (Mimi Lieber), who wants to adapt Eric's novel. A Long Island Jew transplanted to the Left Coast, Melanie feels his characters are too Jewish for the mass movie market. When she introduces him to a vapid blond actor, Tyler Shaw (Kevin Isole), who's itching to play the title role, it turns into a concept more cleverly developed in any number of Woody Allen films.

Pin-point direction by veteran Daniel Sullivan moves BROOKLYN BOY at a steady pace. Adam Arkin does a superior job at communicating Eric's struggle with his identity. Margulies has given him a character that is both likable and frustrating at the same time. Ari Graynor as the Alison, the California kid with a taste for celebrity, makes a sparkling Broadway debut. Allan Miller is perfectly irritating as Eric's father and Ari Gross is superb as Ira. Set designs by Ralph Funicello are lavishly rendered. BROOKLYN BOY, as rich and filling as a hefty slice from Junior's.