Reviewed
by Judy Richter
Sometimes success isn't all it's cracked up to be. That's one of the lessons that novelist Eric Weiss (Victor Talmadge) learns in Donald Margulies' "Brooklyn Boy." TheatreWorks is presenting the 2004 drama under the direction of Joy Carlin.
Eric
has just seen his third novel, "Brooklyn Boy," rise to No. 11 on the
New York Times best-seller list after his first two published novels fared
poorly. Visiting his seriously ill father, Manny (Ray Reinhardt), in a Brooklyn hospital, he's
eager to tell him about this accomplishment. The cantankerous Manny seems
unimpressed. He has to be coaxed into taking a copy to read. He also wants to
know how close this work of fiction is to Eric's real life growing up Jewish in
Brooklyn.
Eric
then runs into a close boyhood friend, Ira Zimmer (David Kudler), whom he hasn't seen or heard
from in years. While Eric has been distancing himself from his Brooklyn and
Jewish roots, Ira and his family live in the house where he grew up, and he
runs his family's delicatessen and practices his faith. Eric is polite but
uncomfortable.
He
become even more uncomfortable when he goes to the East Village apartment he
shared with his wife, Nina (Pamela Gaye Walker), whom he still loves but who
has filed for divorce. She's a writer, too, but has seen only rejection slips.
Apparently his success has come between them.
In
subsequent scenes, Eric goes to Hollywood for a book signing and a meeting with
the producer who will shepherd his "Brooklyn Boy" screenplay into
film. After the signing, he invites Alison (Kristin Stokes), a college senior, to his hotel
room -- another uncomfortable experience. More pain comes when producer Melanie
Fine (Amy Resnick)
heaps praise on his script, then asks him to cut it and to "lower the
Jewish quotient." A short reading with Tyler Shaw (Craig W. Marker), the brash young actor who's to
play Eric's character in the film, hits closer to home than Eric had imagined.
Ultimately, after another encounter with Ira and his now-deceased father, Eric
begins to come to terms with his roots and to find some solace.
Talmadge,
who is on stage throughout the two-act play, ably captures Eric's conflicting
emotions. Reinhardt is marvelous as the crusty old Manny, while Stokes gives
unexpected depth to young Alison. Although high-powered, smarmy movie producers
have become something of a stereotype, Resnick skillfully navigates the changes
in tone as she flatters Eric, barks out profanity-laced orders to her attorney
on the phone, then tries to convince Eric that making the script less Jewish
will result in a bigger box office. Walker, Kudler and Marker also handle their
roles convincingly.
The
play tends to be talky with little action, especially since all but one scene
involves Eric and only one other character, but Carlin and her skillful cast
pace it well. They also mine its humor, often evoking knowing laughter from the
opening night audience. The design team also helps with a revolving set by Annie
Smart, costumes
by Taisia Nikonishchenko, lighting by Michael Palumbo and sound by Cliff Caruthers.
The
idea that you can't go home again occurs frequently in drama and literature,
but in Eric's case, going home restores some equilibrium to his changing life.
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