All About Jewish Theatre - Kaleidoscope : Donald Margulies' The Brooklyn Boy

Miri Ben-Shalom was born in Israel and studied Theater at Tel Aviv University. Since 1973 in New York. Miri has been a documentary filmmaker and editor for more than twenty years. She worked for the major TV networks, as well as many independent productions. She co-produced and edited the documentary preserving the Past to Ensure the Future that was nominated for an Academy Award. For other works she is a Telly Awards recipient, a US International Film and Video Festival winner and received a 1998 National Headliners Award. She also wrote several feature length screenplays. In the last three years Miri returned to her original interest – theater. Currently, the play I Want the Whole World to See that I Can Cry through her non-profit company From Home to Homeland, Inc., she is working on producing this play for the stage, as well as a touring educational version for high school and college students to enhance the teaching of the WWII Holocaust curriculum. www.icancry.org, . Miri is also the Literary Liaison of The Genesius Theatre Guild www.genesiusguild.org . e-mail : mirib@earthlink.net

Brooklyn Boy does not break any conventions, nor does it build any new concepts. The play deals with a subject matter we have all seen and dealt with before: a man breaking away from his roots, in this case his Jewish upbringing in Brooklyn. Nonetheless, it is engrossing, believable and funny. Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Donald Margulies, together with accomplished director Daniel Sullivan, a brilliant cast lead by Adam Arkin, and a talented team of designers, in particular set designer Ralph Funicello, succeeded in creating a compelling and satisfying play.

Since leaving Brooklyn after graduating the local high school, Eric Weiss (Adam Arkin) has been living a new, modern and atheistic life, far from Brooklyn and his Jewish background. He married a non-Jewish woman and spends his time writing complex books that don’t sell. Ironically, it is only when he returns to his roots that he finally finds success, or at least professional success. He achieves fame and recognition through his newly published semi-autobiographical book “Brooklyn Boy”. However, Eric Weiss is still in denial of the fact that this former Brooklyn boy is still deeply rooted in his past and tradition, despite his lifetime attempt to escape it. This is the basis of his on-going conflict between his past and his present life. Step by step (or scene by scene), while resisting and denying his connection to his past, he slowly finds out that he cannot escape it. During the process of this realization he confronts people from his past and present life: he confronts his ailing father, Manny (Allan Miller), who, even on his death-bed, is critical and unsupportive despite of his son’s success. He confronts his childhood friend, Ira Zimmer (Arye Gross), with whom Eric wants nothing to do now, even denying the significant part Ira played in his childhood – and in his book. He confronts his wife (Polly Draper), who is divorcing him because of his success. He confronts a literary groupie who is half his age, (Ari Graynor); a sharp Hollywood producer (Mimi Lieber) who optioned his book; and a popular young movie star slated to play Eric (Kevin Isola).

The plot and the direction in which Eric is headed are both predictable. Many of the characters are familiar, at times almost cliché. For example, the slick, pushy Hollywood executive (Jewish, of course) who wants Eric to adapt his book into a less “ethnic” screenplay: “Imagining Jews is much easier then seeing them”, she says, “You have to think like an average moviegoer. Or a studio executive,” she explains. “What are those people going to tell their friends about this movie with all these Jews running around?” Or the “non-ethnic” star who tells the distraught author, “I always find my character through my hair”. Or the “nebbish” Jewish boyhood friend, now religious and father of four. Or finally the disapproving father, who doesn’t bother to watch his son on The Tonight Show, and who is unimpressed by his accomplishment: 11th on the national best-seller list- “You mean there is an eleven? I thought it only went to ten.”

But Margulies’ dialogues are impeccable, he maintains a perfect balance between conflict and humor, and the situations and relationships are moving and intense. It is through Manny Weiss’s unfulfilled dreams that we understand Eric’s need to get out of Brooklyn and all that it represents – this is the road to fulfilling his own dreams. It is through the aggressive producer that Eric realizes his deep connection to his roots: “I want to be fucking authentic,” he screams at her. It is through his buddy Ira, toward whom Eric is somewhat aloof and condescending, that we realize how detached Eric is from his past – “Do we know each other?” Eric asks when Ira approaches him. It is through this long forgotten friend Eric finally completes his journey back home.

The impact of the play is undeniable. It is not what Margulies writes – it is the way he writes, and not only for the sharp, naturalistic dialogues, but also for the accessibility and the universality of the characters, the duality Eric Weiss lives with, and the conflicts he struggles with both within himself and with others. No doubt, the play appeals to Jewish audiences, but it touches on themes people from all walks of life can identify with and relate to: dealing with ghosts from the past, relationships with elderly parents, childhood friendships, midlife crises, self-identity and coming to terms with one’s heritage. The audience, Jewish or not, laughs with the characters and cries with them. My companion, not Jewish, who grew up in a small New England town, told me she felt the play was written about her, so much she identified with the emotions and the conflicts Eric Weiss experienced.

Donald Margulies, who set the bar high for himself with his previous plays, drew mixed reactions for Brooklyn Boy. Victor Gluck from Back Stage sums it up best: “Brooklyn Boy is entertaining and wise but offers no surprises, which is in itself a surprise from the author of Found a Peanut, Sight Unseen, and Dinner with Friends.”

Brooklyn Boy first opened at the South Coast Repertory, in Costa Mesa, CA. Ed Kaufman from The Hollywood Reporter called it “tough, insightful, bittersweet, funny and ultimately wise.” However, Evan Henerson who writes for U-redlands Daily Facts disagrees: “‘Brooklyn Boy’ burrows into clichés” he titled his critique. “An unqualified mess,” he goes on: “A stinker… unfocused, mawkish, light and pandering.” And Sharon Perlmuter from Talkin’ Broadway, LA, says: “The play is rather more successful as a comedy about Brooklyn Jews… As a drama of self-discovery, Margulies’s script has difficulty transcending its trite plotline.”

In New York, though not as harsh, the Manhattan Theater Club production at the Biltmore also received a wide spectrum of reviews. Some, like Jacques Le Sourd form TheJournalNews.com loved the play unconditionally: “If you’ve lost interest in theater lately, there’s a new play on Broadway that will restore your faith in the form.”
A “Vivid Play” The Jewish Week praises Brooklyn Boy. “The casting is superb; all the actors nail their character perfectly,” writes Ted Merwin, “Brooklyn Boy is a major work of American Jewish drama,” and he concludes “don’t miss it.” Mr. Merwin’s only problem with the play is “the presentation of Eric’s apparent re-embrace of his Jewish heritage in the last few moments of the play.”
For Ben Brantley of The New York Times the main problem with this “sincere but doggedly unsurprising new play” is its inability to present the familiar themes in a new and unpredictable way: “But while this comic drama is steeped in an admirably humble and often touching spirit of acceptance, it seldom does what first-rate plays must do and what Mr. Margulies has achieved repeatedly before: it does not make the familiar seems fresh.”

The anticipated path of the play doesn’t faze Michael Sommers, a staff writer for The Star-Ledger of New Jersey “The apparently simple, even predictable nature of the play’s structure conceals a well of emotions that viewers can tap into using their own experience,” he writes. Mr. Sommers also points out the universal appeal of the play: “You don’t have to be Jewish or hail from Brooklyn to dig the truth or humor in this work. Donald Margulies has crafted a story that reaches out to anybody who’s ever gone back to their old neighborhood and realized how far they’ve wandered from home base.”

Variety’s David Rooney agrees with the play wide approach: “While its static structure and somewhat mechanical resolution keep ‘Brooklyn Boy’ from being an outstanding play, it is nonetheless a satisfying one, illuminated by sensitivity and humor, by sparkling, naturalistic dialogue and by the grace with which it extends a deeply personal story into universal realm.” However, Elysa Gardner of USA Today doesn’t see it this way: “Does the world really need another play, movie or book about a solipsistic artist going through a midlife crisis?” She asks. “The short answer is no,” she replies. “But if we must have one, Brooklyn Boy (**1/2 out of four)” she continues “is at least an entertaining option, if not terribly enlightening one.” Ms. Gardner feels that “by reducing many of the people we encounter to stereotypes,” Margulies makes his main character “less sympathetic, and his story less compelling.”

Yet Matthew Murray of Talkin’ Broadway thinks otherwise (and also contrary to his LA colleague): “Most of Eric’s encounters are tense and terse… The experiences thus accumulate and subtly interact until the final scene, when their lasting effect on Eric’s life are explored in depth. Most importantly,” he goes on, “Eric is seldom apologetic, giving the show the consistent dramatic anchor it needs to surprise and delight when it could just bore.”

These are just a handful of excerpts for this vastly reviewed play. With some exceptions ranging from extreme dislike to unconditional praise, the consensus is echoed in Reuters’ Frank Scheck’s review, that despite “moments of terrific comedy and affecting pathos …the play never achieves the thematic coherence demonstrated by the playwright’s previous work. Nonetheless,” he declares, “it remains a vital addition to a Broadway season starved for thoughtful new dramas.”

Also extolled are Ralph Funicello’s fluid sets, beautifully intermingling interiors and Brooklyn’s exterior, Daniel Sullivan’s thoughtful, sensitive direction, and the outstanding performances of the entire cast. Unanimously commended among them is Arye Gross, who plays Ira Zimmer, Eric’s childhood friend. “The best and most interesting work is Gross’ portrait of Ira Zimmer,” writes Desmond Ryan for The Philadelphia Inquirer. Others describe his work as “Superbly played,” and “Brilliantly conjured.” Also: “Mr. Gross brings an astutely defensive air of deference to the role”, and “Gross’ nebbishy Ira acquits himself most convincingly,” to mention a few.

One chilly, windy Wednesday afternoon, between matinee and evening performances, I sat down with Arye Gross, and over a bowl of hot chicken soup, to discuss the play and his role. “How did you create Ira?” I ask, “on the one hand, he is almost a stereotypic Jewish nebbish, on the other hand, he is a very sensitive, sensible, believable, authentic character.” Gross modestly credited the playwright: “I really do feel that Donald created Ira. I heard Ira's voice the first time I read the script. And it's a fairly extraordinary achievement by a playwright, that he captures the essence of someone so completely and with such depth. There is the perception of nebbishness,” he concurs, but looking at certain biographical facts contained within the play, you find the depth of his character. “They were bar mitzvahed together. Ira did spend time at Eric's home, going over to watch TV because Ira's family didn't have a TV. And what I imagine Ira's story to be is that he and Eric were pals, were great friends. Maybe Eric had closer friendships, but Ira loved Eric. And right around the bar mitzvah, Eric's mother died, and Eric was left with this withholding father, with this man who is incapable or unwilling, for whatever reason, to show his child love, to nurture him. And Eric fled. And Ira felt this tremendous sense of abandonment by the kid who was his compliment. Eric wrote and Ira drew pictures, you know? I can see Ira imagining that one day they'd create comic books together. And suddenly, the guy who is going to give words to his rhymes is gone, has removed himself.”

ZIMMER :
The minute I heard you got into Columbia, I knew that was it.
ERIC :
That was what?
ZIMMER :
You were gone, you were outta here, and never coming back. I
called you, left messages for you... You never had time for me!
ERIC :
I was busy with school!
ZIMMER :
So was I! But you were always so “vital.” No matter what I was doing, what you were doing was way more important. I was busy, too! Maybe it was only Brooklyn College, it wasn’t Columbia...

While in college, Ira’s father died, and Ira inherited the family grocery store and financial responsibilities. He married a nice Jewish girl who is orthodox, and he moved into orthodoxy himself, becoming “Ba’al Tshuva” as Gross puts it. “You know, there's an interesting thing that I discovered about this idea of the Ba’al Tshuva. And I think that -- I don't know if this was Donald's intention, but this is where, as I'm playing Ira, where I connect to it. Nobody cares about Ira's youth anymore, but Eric's written about this. He knows what Ira was before life rained down, fell on him like a house falling from the sky. Ira wants to connect with Eric and Eric refuses to participate. And I think he comes back at the end of the play because he is Ba’al Tshuva. And for every bit of hurt and resentment that he might have had towards Eric, Ira's got to go back to Eric, and make his act of repentance.”

“Why?” I ask.
“Because it's a sin to hold a grudge. Ira knows what Eric needs. He knows that he needs not to be alone at this time. And since he knows that, he must do it. And no matter how much Eric rejects him, shoving him away and throwing the Kaddish to the floor, it's still, 'okay, so when you're ready you'll come.' Because it's not about Ira's need for a friend, it's about Ira's need for Tshuva (repentance).” As Arye speaks, his eyes get misty, his lips quiver, he almost chokes up.
“You’re very emotional about it,” I say.
“I am. It touches something very, very deep inside me.”

Has Ira changed you?
“Well, I don’t entirely know yet because I’m in it. But I identify very much with being Jewish,” says Arey Gross, who was never Bar mitzvahed. “I feel as though Ira is connecting to some latent part of who I am. And I tremendously admire him. I would hope to be as much of a mensch.”

“How involved was Donald Margulies with the production?”
For the first several weeks of rehearsal he was there virtually every day. And he would make adjustments to the text, and occasionally inform the actors about what his intent was through the director, Dan Sullivan. They worked very well together. They would make suggestions to one another as to how to focus a moment or eliminate something that was extraneous. He was very much a part of the initial rehearsal process.”

“Where there many Changes?”
“The play was very much what it was when it was first sent to him. All those scenes were there, the same flow of the play. But he would tweak the beats, and he'd shape the sequences within the scenes.”

“How interested was he in the actors being faithful to his dialogue?”
“Oh, it's not even a question. I think everyone in the room understands that the language the playwright uses is not just the broad ideas. That there can be as much meaning in the syntax, or in the rhythms the playwright has written, as in the broader meanings of the theme. There was never any kind of 'we’ll improvise something here.'”
On rare occasions Margulies would solicit advice from the actors.

“Did he accept your suggestions?” “He definitely responded to, but it was not like anyone ever went in and said, 'Listen, Donald, this is what I want to say here.'”

“How was working with Dan Sullivan? How did he work with you on your character?”
“You’d just start going through the text, and he’d say 'Why don't you come in from this area over here?' He'd never tell you exactly what to do, but just a couple of broad strokes. And then as rehearsals progressed -- I think after two weeks -- we did a run through of the play. And Dan maybe gave each of us two or three notes. And you'd think ‘I'm doing so much, he only has these comments?’ And you start to wonder, well, maybe he doesn’t like me, he doesn't think I'm good enough that it's worth commenting on. But what you realize throughout the process is that his direction is -- he sculpts. You can do the whole play, and the only note will be 'You know, these two lines that you have, you're putting a little pause in between. Pull those right together.' And when I put these two lines together, boy, you find that one little adjustment is having a subtle shift on some kind of undertone in the scene. Or he'll give a little physical note that suddenly propels you into an entirely deeper meaning.” Dan’s style with the physical staging is similar, Gross explains. “For the most part, there's not a lot of work on staging, unless there's a problem. And then he's making a visual composition, a balance of where the audience’s eye will go, and who they should be looking at in a scene. I think Dan is a masterful director.”

“How was working with Adam Arkin?”
“Adam. It's one of the most wonderful collaborative experiences I've had. There was something, from the minute we started rehearsal, very alive onstage. And we've become very close since, outside of the theater. I have enormous respect for him. He's a warm, mensch-y guy, and he's willing to put himself out. He's very generous with all of us onstage in an extremely difficult role. I wish I had some dirt on him, but he's wonderful…”

Arey Gross and his wife Lisa are both native Angelenos but they’re thinking of staying in New York. “We're really loving it here. We have our dogs, we like where we're living on the Upper West Side, right across from the park. We’re figuring all that out right now.”

I wish I had some dirt on him. But he is so wonderful…