Brooklyn Takes a Bow at The Barn

Playwright Donald Margulies was born in 1954 and wrote his play Brooklyn Boy in 2004, which means he was – how old? Yes, this Boy is an aging Boomer. But his story and that of its protagonist, Eric, is artfully told, and it’s one that people of many ages will find familiar: Eric’s mother, with whom he was not especially close, has died; his father is dying; his marriage is on shaky ground; he feels lost in his old home town.

The part that’s unfamiliar is that Eric has become a phenomenally successful author. His 384-page novel, Brooklyn Boy, is eleventh on the best-seller list and has been optioned for a movie. It’s dedicated to his parents. So when Eric goes back to Brooklyn to visit his hospitalized father and show him the book and its dedication, the audience expects that Dad will be proud. Eric doesn’t.

Dad is still sarcastic, but now weary and dying. He fusses about “the stringy part” of his orange. He wants to know why the book’s dedication didn’t mention their names, Manny and Phyllis. He complains that the book is too long for him to read, then sighs, “Time is the worst damn thing in the world.”

Shortly after the visit, Eric runs into Ira, an old classmate, who is now at the hospital to visit his dying mother. Ira still lives in the same house he grew up in, having inherited the family’s deli, which landed on him “like a house falling out of the sky” when his father died. Ira now has a wife and four children with “thousands of bucks in orthodontia.” One of the daughters has crocheted his yarmulke. Ira wants desperately to reconnect, to find out why Eric became a success and he didn’t.

But Ira is a success in ways that Eric isn’t. His wife, Nina, is also a writer, but hasn’t published anything for six years and no longer wants a baby. The two are, in fact, dividing up the household.

Eric’s L.A. film deal isn’t going so well, either, even though Paramount is paying for all his expenses, even the junk food in the hotel mini-bar. A local bimbo, Alison, pitches her film idea and marvels at the idea of an actual printed book. Melanie, his producer, complains that Eric’s book characters are “too ethnic,” that one of them – Seth Bernstein, for instance – should be Black. And Tyler, the actor who will play Eric in the film, is a hunky blond who plans to darken his hair for the part, maybe get a wave: “I always find my character through my hair.” Yet, through their run-through reading together, Tyler reveals that he really can act, while Eric discovers that he no longer can.

Brooklyn Boy is constructed as a series of two-person scenes. “Actors love to work on a Margulies script,” says the play’s director, Phoebe Moyer. “His characters speak in a vernacular that is honest and real.” Of the seven characters, most appealing, perhaps, is Ira Zimmer, Eric’s childhood friend. Timothy Beagley portrays Ira with a combination of warmth and neediness. Jerry Jacob plays Eric’s father, Manny, a force to contend with, alive or dead. Matthew Lai is Eric Weiss, swimming hard against the current of his past. Safiya Arnaout plays Melanie, the hard-driving, flamboyant Hollywood producer, with Joseph Rende as Tyler, the hopeful star. (“The camera loves him.”) Robin Steeves is Nina, Eric’s vanishing wife, and Allison Porto-Yale plays Alison, the wannabe filmmaker.

Because the scenes take place in different locations, a revolving set would have speeded the action, but probably busted the budget. However, director Moyer and crew keep the scene changes to a brisk minimum.

The ending forecasts itself a long way off, but it’s tenderly done and worth waiting for. The audience loved it.

Ross Valley Players’ Brooklyn Boy will be at the Marin Art & Garden Center through June 15. Performances are at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays. For more information or reservations, see www.rossvalleyplayers.com or call 456- 9555.

SPECIAL EVENTS:
A Brooklyn Reunion will take place on Sunday, May 25 at 2 p.m. Audience members are invited to share stories and memories of life in Brooklyn. Reservations are recommended.

Tales of Brooklyn Online offers a community website where visitors can share both memories and photos of Brooklyn. Time is ongoing. To see others’ stories or to post your own, see http://rossvalleyplayers.com/TalesOfBrooklyn.