Under any circumstances, then, a revival of Brighton Beach Memoirs, Simon's portrait of a thoroughly endearing Jewish family in late 1930s Brooklyn, would be a welcome diversion. But the new production (* * *½ out of four) that opened Sunday at the Nederlander Theatre is a lot more than that.

Memoirs, the first installation in Simon's autobiographical "Eugene trilogy" — the third, Broadway Bound, opens in December — traces two tumultuous weeks in the life of Eugene Jerome, a 15-year-old Yankees fan and fledgling writer. His working-class parents, Jack and Kate, toil endlessly and with little means to provide the foundation for a better life for their kids.

That struggle is complicated by the presence of Kate's widowed sister, Blanche, who moved her family into the cozy Jerome household when her husband died and, six years later, seem to have no exit strategy. Jack's heart, taxed by a relentless work schedule, is further burdened by news of Hitler's rise abroad, where he has relatives.

Simon's unabashedly sentimental account of all this is not the kind of stuff that gets deconstructed in college literature courses. Still, with the right combination of comic panache and gentle insight, it can be extremely winning — and this cast, lovingly directed by David Cromer, has both qualities in spades.

Eugene, introduced in 1983 by Matthew Broderick, is played here by 19-year-old Noah Robbins, who lists his most recent credit as a high school production of The Producers. No matter: As a precocious, sweetly mischievous nerd, this kid is spot-on, so natural and funny that you'll leave the theater wishing you had seen his Max Bialystock.

The other young players are similarly authentic. As Blanche's elder girl, Nora, the object of Eugene's guilty adolescent lust, Alexandra Socha captures the breezy sense of entitlement that tends to afflict pretty teenagers without obscuring the character's tender heart. And Gracie Bea Lawrence's deadpan take on her pampered, hypochondriacal kid sister, Laurie, is priceless.

As Stanley, Eugene's big brother, Santino Fontana is another standout, managing a moving chemistry with Robbins and Dennis Boutsikaris, who is superb as the stalwart Jack. Laurie Metcalf and Jessica Hecht respectively invest the harried Kate and fragile Blanche with both wry humor and profound sensitivity.

Metcalf, Boutsikaris, Hecht and Fontana also will be featured in Broadway Bound. If that staging offers as much unbridled charm as this one, they'll really have something to kvell about.

Enlarge By Joan Marcus Laurie Metcalf and Dennis Boutsikaris star as Kate and Jack Jerome, the parents of Eugene, who is coming of age in a crowded apartment in Brighton Beach Memoirs.