You might recognize Ari Graynor from her film or television work: the Indie flick Game 6, Mystic River, or "The Sopranos," where she played Meadow's college roommate. This young starlet has just made her Broadway debut and is holding her own with the likes of Adam Arkin in Donald Margulies' latest play, Brooklyn Boy. Ms. Graynor spent a few minutes recently speaking with Talkin' Broadway's Charles Battersby.

CB:  : I'm sure there are a few people reading this who haven't seen the show yet. For them, what's Brooklyn Boy about?

AG:  : It's about a writer [named Eric Weiss], played by Adam Arkin, who's just written his third novel. His previous two novels have been critical hits and this one becomes a best-seller. He's at a time in his life where there a lot of things are changing, like his father's health and his newfound fame, and the end of his marriage. At the crux of it is the relationship between the Eric and his father, his childhood in Brooklyn, and his relationship to Judaism. He's coming to terms with those relationships.

I play Alison. She's a young woman who meets Eric at a book signing in LA.

CB:  : I think there was a joke about Alison being a "literature groupie", right?

AG:  : There is, and it's funny because we've all become so attached to these characters. We originated them and we can get defensive of people's observations about the characters. Sometimes we'll have talkbacks after the show and someone will say "Oh, so she really was a literary groupie…". And I'll say "No, she wasn't a literary groupie". That's the irony, that she seems like this valley girl from LA who wants to mooch off all the famous people. But, she's never [picked up a novelist at a book signing] before. And I think she really does respect his work and maybe there is this idea of it being titillating about being close to someone famous. But I think she really does respect him, because he's a writer. It's not just because he was on "The Today Show."

CB:  : One of the great things about this show is that it has a very theatrical structure where there are only two characters on stage at a time. It seems like no one's doing this kind of writing in any medium anymore.

AG:  : So often in theatre, or film, or television, they're very story-driven and, not that Brooklyn Boy isn't, but it's driven more by really well-developed characters and the relationships and subtexts. If it were a movie or on TV, that would all come second after some grand story line, or special effects, or camera angles, or whatever.

That's what's special about this play. There are no distractions from the words and the feelings and the ideas. It's Donald's [Margulies] writing and Dan's [Sullivan] impeccable directing, and the incredible acting from the whole company. I don't think you get a very visceral response from pieces that aren't so focused on the relationships between two people, or one man and the world. There's a richness to it.

Also, the acting company is so, so incredibly strong. I've never seen a group of people collectively find their voices in a piece like this. Everyone is so different from their characters, and everyone has created these incredibly well-rounded people.

I was saying to Adam the other night that it's such an honor and a pleasure to be onstage with him. Because it's so different every night. And it's so alive every night, and I have experienced a different amount of play with him than I have with other people, and I think that's also because Dan has made us feel so safe in the work and trusting our own instincts. He's not a director that's heavy-handed with his words and Direction. He creates this sort of masterpiece, and then you think back, "How did he do it?" and you can't quite put your finger on it because it's this invisible Direction where he gives you very astute comments and notes but doesn't bog you down with them and really let's you trust what's going on onstage.

He'll never have you go for a laugh just because you can get it. If it's not true, and it's not real, he doesn't care. He doesn't need the laugh.

CB:  : This is still a very funny play for a drama. You, in particular, have some great jokes, like the Houdini gag, which I won't ruin for those who haven't seen the show yet.

AG:  : It's a good joke. I know so many girls like Alison, who are really earnest about their beliefs, and they may sound a little ridiculous. When we were first rehearsing this in at South Coast Rep in August, we all knew the show was very funny but, in rehearsing, we knew we really needed an audience because we'd completely forgotten that it was funny. And a lot of the jokes in my scene are not "Ba dum bump! Ching!" jokes. We didn't feel like we were setting up jokes. So it was a joy when we finally had that interaction with the audience to let us know that it really is funny. There's a wonderful balance of the energy that comedy brings and the drama underneath it.

CB:  : Speaking of the drama beneath the comedy, Adam Arkin's character has had a great tragedy right before your scene. The audience doesn't know it yet, and neither does your character. How does subtext like that affect your performance? When your character is out of the loop.

AG:  : As an actor you want to try to think as much as you can like your character. So that's a part of the story that I try not to think about. Through the scene, both Alison and Eric know why they're in this hotel room together. Both of them are trying to be impressive and charming but at the same time it's sort of obvious that they're both feeling vulnerable and insecure and they're not used to being in this situation. That energy is palpable and I don't think Alison necessarily knows what's going on in Eric's mind.

But some nights it's more clear than others. That's what's so great about Adam Arkin; the other night, the scene had a very different energy to it and we were both trying different things. He seemed less interested in being with Alison, and a little harder and more upset. When we talked about it after the show he said he said he was thinking more about [the tragic plot twist], so that was much more apparent to my character in the scene. So, in character, I had to work much harder at figuring out what was going on between the two of them. It had a totally different vibe to it.

CB:  : There's some dialogue about how the younger generation doesn't read, and Alison even asks how Eric can even get out of bed in the morning, knowing that. Is she speaking for you or your generation?

AG:  : I think she is, in some ways. That's a conversation I can easily see Alison having with her friends, and it's a conversation that I've had with my friends too. When she's talking to Eric, though, she's presenting it in a provocative way, to elicit a response. She's creating a dialogue and wants to appear to be intelligent. Obviously she's not one of those people. She reads.

CB:  : Earlier you mentioned the first production at South Coast Rep in California. How did you first get involved with the project?

AG:  : I was in LA in June, for a week, to see if I was ready to move out there. While I was there, I got a call from my manager about two projects. One was a movie called Game 6 and the other was Brooklyn Boy. I was interested in both of them, and I just loved Brooklyn Boy. I hadn't done theatre in two years so there was a part of me that was scared. Even though I knew I loved the material and wanted to work with Dan Sullivan, it was a really long commitment.

The idea of having a plan from August until April felt like such a long time. But I really loved it and flew back from LA on the red eye, and slept on my agent's couch and went from one audition to the other. I went in for Brooklyn Boy three times, and it almost didn't work out, since I got the movie as well and the first week of rehearsal for Brooklyn Boy overlapped with the last week of filming. Ultimately, it all ended up working out and thank God because this has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

CB:  : Game 6 premiered at Sundance last month, and Brooklyn Boy closes on the 27th. What does the future hold for you?

AG:  : We all have to get out of the denial phase and accept that the show's almost over. It's upsetting because this play and this character are not the kind of thing that comes along very often. It's going to be very hard to say goodbye to her, to Alison, and say goodbye to the play, because it's so beautiful.

Brooklyn Boy runs through March 27 at the Biltomore Theatre for Manhattan Theatre Club. For ticket and performance information, visit Tickets online and current Performance Schedule: Telecharge