Golden Boy

Golden Boy is a revival of a 1937 play by Clifford Odets. It's about a young man torn between playing the classical violin and his desire to punch people out in the boxing ring. Yet fighting will ruin his hands, and his violin days will be over.

Seth Numrich is the Golden Boy, and his sexual attractiveness is discussed in another thread. Since he plays his character in the 1937 time frame, he doesn't have some of the sexy attributes which men show nowadays. He is an awkward suitor of his boss's girlfriend, and seems to thrive only when he is in the ring.

In my opinion, he didn't show much passion for playing that instrument. In the one scene where he does play a fancy and expensive violin given to him by his father, he seeks privacy to do so. Which means he goes off stage to play the instrument, making the audience wonder whether the actor can play it at all.

The boxing career soars until fateful moments happen. These moments give the play its heft. Often appearing dated, the sets and costumes are wonderful reproductions of the time. The acting is fine too. The main thing missing for me is that I didn't buy his conflict over the two choices, and I didn't see what made his boss's girl so hot that he wanted to steal her. But there were no other women in his life, so why not go for the one at hand?

The review from theatermania.com will give you a deeper look at the show: http://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/reviews/12-2012/golden-boy_63897.html