Youthful Energy in ‘Broadway Bound’

Is it narcissism, psychological exhibitionism or self-evaluation that drives people to write about their own lives? In the last installment of Neil Simon’s autobiographical trilogy “Broadway Bound,” all three good-naturedly jostle about like siblings vying for parental approval.

At the Hudson Theatre, director Gary Blumsack capitalizes on the I’m-so-clever aspect, somewhat at the expense of self-reflection. As Simon’s alter ego, Eugene, Alex Craig Mann wins the audience with his genial manner. He is filled with youthful energy and smart-alecky condescension, but the good intentions behind his showoff attitude prevent his first-person narration from being irritating or whiny.

Radio is still king and television is in its infancy when a struggling comedy-writing team, Brooklyn brothers Eugene and Stan (Jason Wolk), begin their rise to success against the backdrop of their parents’ (Ellen Gerstein and Art Metrano) disintegrating marriage. The play perversely questions the need to air one’s dirty laundry in order to achieve success--a theme at first referenced when the grandfather (Allan Rich) strives to hide his soiled sheets and then again when Eugene and Stan’s first writing break results in a radio comedy skit that parodies their family problems.

While this may sound dull and gloomy, Simon camouflages his philosophical bent with one-liners and the brash excitement of young men hot on the trail of success. For the most part, Blumsack is able to balance the parental angst with the siblings’ exuberance. Yet at times the two planes of reality are too divergent. Stan’s underlying anger at his father’s infidelity is never hinted at until he explodes.

Wolk is wonderfully boyish and illogically domineering in that older-brotherly way. He plays well off of Mann. Seeing Gerstein as the embittered mother express the melting of reserve and repression when she recalls her youth is a treat, but it is really Mann as the surrogate boy-genius Simon who captures our attention.

* “Broadway Bound,” Hudson Theatre, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends Sept. 8. $20. (213) 660-8587. Running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes.