‘Brooklyn Boy’ hits Broadway

Donald Margulies’ “Brooklyn Boy,” which premiered at South Coast Repertory last September and opened on Broadway on Thursday, drew respectful but largely lukewarm reviews from New York critics.

“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 seem fresh,” wrote Ben Brantley of the New York Times.

Linda Winer of Newsday found the play “filled with sudden insights and glorious patches of unpredictable eloquence. But even Daniel Sullivan’s first-rate production cannot disguise an old yawn of a story in modern dress.”

Clive Barnes of the New York Post called the play “oddly lovable” and “extraordinarily satisfying” despite “predictability afoot.” Elysa Gardner of USA Today dubbed it “an entertaining option, if not a terribly enlightening one,” and Michael Kuchwara of Associated Press wrote that the play’s theme is “not exactly a new idea,” but nevertheless the production becomes “a warm, heartfelt evening of theater.”

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Don Shirley