LAST week my play “The Lyons” closed on Broadway. After the last curtain call, once the audience had left, I joined the company onstage for a toast. It was harder than I imagined to say goodbye. You see, under my cynical shell I’m a sentimental mess. Much was made of the fact that this was my first play on Broadway, after having had plays produced Off Broadway for almost 20 years. And although we only ran a few months (after an Off Broadway run at the Vineyard Theater), it was a thrilling experience, full of highs and lows. I’ve been asked, now that we’ve closed, if I might reflect on some of these. I shall endeavor to do so. It won’t be easy, as I’d like to retain some sense of dignity, and were I to be completely honest, it would be apparent that I have none.

HIGH: OPENING NIGHT A fancy party, famous guests, many rave reviews, and I didn’t have to deal with relatives. Not being insane, I made sure my family had seen the show the previous weekend. That way I could relax and try to have a good time. I mean I adore them, of course. But really, who wants to deal with family on what may well be the only Broadway opening of my career? (I called my mother from the party to report on the reviews. She’d already read them and was sleeping.)

LOW: DISSENTING OPINIONS Yes, we got many wonderful reviews (including one in The New York Times), but there were enough dissenting voices to keep me humble. And the dissenting voices were loud and vitriolic. A critic with an Internet show (whose name I’ve repressed) chirped, “Mr. Silver didn’t have an idea for a play this season, so he did ‘The Lyons.’ ” On Broadway both the cheers and the hisses get louder. The cheers feel good, and the hisses hurt. People who make plays are human.