Milwaukee is a long way from Brooklyn, New York, but the universal themes in Donald Margulies' Brooklyn Boy can make a Midwestern audience feel right at home. The Milwaukee Chamber Theater pulls out all the stops in this production. For starters, it offers the best casting choices in recent memory. James DeVita is the story's protagonist, a middle-aged Jewish writer who finally has made The New York Times bestseller list with his latest novel. Titled "Brooklyn Boy," it is a semi-autobiographical tale of a kid who grows up and leaves Brooklyn forever. Or so he thinks.
Eric Weiss is the successful author who returns, briefly, to his Brooklyn neighborhood upon hearing of his father's ill health. During this brief visit, he hopes to win the approval of his dying father (no luck) or perhaps rekindle romance with his soon-to-be-ex wife (nope). Unexpectedly, he also happens to encounter an old friend in a hospital cafeteria. Weiss is not sure he is glad to see his childhood pal. Eric nervously makes idle chatter for a short time. He seems glad to slip away to his next appointment.
Margulies creates some sympathy for Eric, a character loosely modeled on the playwright's own life. Just as Eric is ready to celebrate his big break, he finds he has no one to celebrate it with. Eric fails to understand that this situation is his own doing. Lonely and sad, Eric leaves New York and boards a plane for Los Angeles. He does a book signing and ends up in his hotel room with an infatuated girl who is half his age. Eric doesn't seem to know what to do with her. It's clear to the audience that the two have nothing in common. For the first time, Eric realizes that escaping his past means leaving behind the familiarity that connects him to the planet.
There are also some scenes in which Eric encounters the callousness of Hollywood agents and actors. Although these scenes are funny, they don't have the impact one finds in the rest of the play. These characters are less well-developed, which is no fault of the actors who do a good job of representing Hollywood at its worst.
Margulies has an excellent ear for dialogue, and the laughs flow naturally from the characters and their interactions. Although actor James DeVita is excellent in playing off of all the other actors, he seems especially simpatico with Robert Spencer, who plays his dying father. They easily banter back and forth in a conversation that reveals many of the good and bad dynamics of their relationship.
One of the most stunning performances is given by Tom Klubertanz, the actor who plays Ira, Eric's friend from the old neighborhood. He needs to be goofy and caring, clueless and endearing. Ira gushes over Eric's success while teasing him in a way that only old friends can do. When Eric hastily moves on to his next appointment, Ira is visibly hurt at being so easily dismissed. Yet he proves to be the most forgiving of friends, seeking out Eric to comfort him when he hears of the father's death. Unlike Eric's soon-to-be-ex-wife, superbly played by Julie Swenson, the audience knows that the bond between Ira and Eric cannot be broken. The play has a deeply spiritual side as well, and this surfaces during the interactions between Ira and Eric.
To the director's credit, the play flows wonderfully from start to finish. The play's seamless structure is further reinforced by a revolving set that effectively moves the audience to the next scene without the interruption of set changes. All the sets look uncannily realistic, supported by the sound and lighting design.
