Licensing

Getting plays produced is hard. Getting them licensed for amateur performance can be even harder. That's why I'm glad to announce that Keep On Walkin', the musical I wrote together with Lavell Blackwell and Joshua H. Cohen, is now available to be performed by schools and community theatres.

The musical's licensing agreements are being handled by Plays for New Audiences, a division of Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis. The company has done a lot of fine work over the years, and it would be a shame to see original work developed there not continue to have a life elsewhere. Keep On Walkin' wasn't developed there, but they are helping other works for young audiences connect to schools and children's theatres looking for material.

Keep On Walkin' weaves together history, humanity, and hope to tell the unforgettable story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott through the eyes of two teenage pen pals. One, May, lives on Staten Island, and the other, June, is in Montgomery. As their letters cross regional and racial divides, both girls come of age against the backdrop of one of the most pivotal movements in American history. The play was performed at schools on Staten Island and later won the Anna Zornio Memorial Children's Theatre Playwriting Award.

This is the first time a musical I worked on has been licensed, though a number of my plays are published and licensed for production. In fact, I recently received a check from Brooklyn Publishers for royalties for my play The New Mrs. Jones. Given that royalty rates for amateur and educational productions haven't gone up much in the past fifty years, no playwright in America can make a living this way, but it's nice when someone acknowledges that your work has value.

Phantasmagoria

Watching a horror story play out live on stage is inherently different from watching one on screen. In a movie, there is no end to the number of possibilities, since either practical or computer-generated effects can produce an unlimited number of severed heads, demonic apparitions, or walking corpses.

On stage, however, the limitations of physical reality can evoke a much eerier sense of fear than anything dreamed up by Hollywood producers. Any terrors you see are more than flickers of light up on the screen. They are here, now, right in front of you, in this very room. The call of horror is coming from inside the house.

That's the advantage of Jack Horton Gilbert's new play Phantasmagoria, playing now at The Tank on 36th Street. Historically, phantasmagoria were actually fore-runners of motion pictures, since they used magic lanterns to project images in front of an audience. This production, skillfully directed by Tom Costello, doesn't need projections to bring you chills, though.

Costello has a long history of developing excellent new plays, including Joshua H. Cohen's The Thirteenth Commandment and Smoke by Kim Davies. He has a knack for bringing a visceral sense of fear and suspense into a small space, which is precisely what Phantasmagoria needs. When stage lights go off during the play, we see actors by candlelight and by the beams of hand-held flashlights, as the rest of the stage is enveloped in a darkness in which anything could be happening.

The play's story is simple enough, and familiar through countless horror stories of the past. At the beginning, we see the cute and likable Pin (Paige Bakke) boarding up the windows of her house against some unknown menace outside. Her obnoxious but oddly endearing friend Otho (Tudor Postolache) shows up at her door, begging to be let in before nightfall. Something has been stalking the people of this unnamed town, taking them at night, and leaving trails of horrifying clues as to what might have happened to them.

That something could be read as a stand-in for any number of menaces emptying out small-town America, from opium addiction to economic collapse to political division. The play is less interested in what it is destroying people, though, and more interested in what our fear of it does to us. This gets illustrated by a number of young people who then arrive at Pin's house for a Halloween party that is clearly a cover for something much more sinister. Each partygoer could be an archetype of a different denizen of horror movies we all know.

We meet the mouthy Fern (Sarina Freda), the loud and threatening Maz (Michael DeFilippis), and the hot girl Isha (Maya Shoham). Joining them is an out-of-towner named Marty (Matthew Yifeng), who seems to have been invited through some less-than-pure motives. Things escalate as they all play a game called dare, which is just what it sounds like and leads to a predictable spiraling out of control. Or does it? The group of friends has a plan for this evening, and like the audience, neither Otho nor Marty knows what it is.

Watching that plan unfold, and then go horribly wrong, is part of the fun of the play. Some characters disappear, while others turn on one another, and the audience is kept guessing who--if anyone--will make it out alive.

Phantasmagoria is playing at The Tank until October 30th, so see it before it closes, then come back for Bara Swain's The Boob Tube Plays, running in The Tank's smaller space from November 2nd to 8th.

Remembering Doug Rossi

New York City has lost one of the best friends to new play development the theatre had. After a difficult battle with cancer, actor Doug Rossi has passed away in his childhood home in Cleveland, Ohio.

I got to know Doug working on new plays at the Abingdon Theatre Company, but he actually trained as a classical actor, getting his MFA in acting working with the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Over the years, he played the title role in Hamlet, Caliban in The Tempest, Orlando in As You Like It, Friar Lawrence in Romeo and Juliet, Orsino in Twelfth Night, Antonio in Much Ado About Nothing, and a host of other Shakespearean roles.

As an actor, Doug was always game for anything, which is what made him such an important figure in the development of new work. The number of new plays he worked on, in readings, workshops, and world premiere productions, helping authors to hone characters and originating new roles, is too numerous to name. Just a few of the plays Doug helped bring to light include Aliens with Extraordinary Skills by Saviana Stanescu, Carlett's Just Carlett by Kat Mustatea, Nell Dash by Doug DeVita, A Brandy Before Dying by Jim Farmer, and Evensong by Christina Quintana.

I had the pleasure of working with Doug in numerous incarnations of I Hate You! A Love Story, in which he acted in a two-hander opposite Sandra Maren Schneider. He also played numerous characters in the early readings of my adaptation of Moby-Dick. He played Tom in THE STATE OF COLORADO v. TENNESSEE WILLIAMS, my send up of The Glass Menagerie, which was fitting, since he had also played that role back in Ohio, winning a Best Actor Chanticleer Award for his performance. More recently, he appeared in a reading of Burns Night at Urban Stages, hilariously appearing on stage in a kilt.

For years, Doug came to monthly meetings of playwrights, first at the Abingdon, and then later with the 36th Street Writers Block. He volunteered his time doing cold reads of new work, and always gave valuable feedback. He took part in the very first table read that Joshua H. Cohen and I did of our musical Burned, and he was a familiar face to anyone who regularly attended readings of new plays. He also gave generously of his time to writers trying to produce their work at small festivals, including the Midtown International Theatre Festival, the Samuel French One-Act Festival, and the NYC Fringe. In 2011, he was named Best Featured Actor for his role in Duncan Pflaster's Sweeter Dreams at Planet Connections.

Doug also appeared on screen, most memorably with Maggie Gyllenhaal in The Deuce on HBO. It is for his stage work that I remember him, though, and as the loving husband of fellow actor Dianne Diep. It seems almost unbelievable that he isn't with us anymore. New York theatre has lost one of its most giving, hardest working, most insightful, brightest stars.

The Barn is BURNED Tomorrow!

Tomorrow, New York Theatre Barn will be presenting songs and scenes from my new musical Burned at Improv Asylum Theatre.

Composer and lyricist Joshua H. Cohen and I have been working on Burned for a while now. The play is inspired by A.A. Milne's drama The Lucky One, but is reset during the 2007-2008 financial collapse.

We had a great rehearsal today. Brian Charles Rooney is playing Bob Farringdon in the reading, and Danny Harris Kornfeld is playing his brother Gerald. The amazing Taylor Iman Jones is portraying Gerald's fiancée Pamela. All three of them have wonderful voices.

In addition, we've got a fabulous supporting cast, including Loni Ackerman as Aunt Harriet, Amy Griffin as Cecilia, Miguel Jarquin-Moreland as Marcus, and Alex Getlin and Daniel Plimpton as the adorable couple Letty and Tommy. Jace Reinhard is also helping us out by reading stage directions.

Aaron Simon Gross is directing the reading, and Paul Rigano has done a wonderful job with music direction. The show goes up at 7pm, so get your tickets now!

Cast of BURNED Announced

My new musical Burned, with songs by Joshua H. Cohen, will have a presentation next month at New York Theatre Barn, and we can now announce the cast.

New York Theatre Barn will be presenting an abridged version of the first act of Burned on Monday, February 3rd, at 7:00. It will be accompanied by selections from J. Douglas Waterbury-Tieman's new musical Johnny and the Devil's Box.

The cast of Burned will include Taylor Iman Jones (who was murderously good in Scotland, PA), Brian Charles Rooney (who memorably played Lucy Brown in The Threepenny Opera), and a number of other brilliant performers, including Loni Ackerman, Alex Getlin, Miguel Jarquin-Moreland, Danny Harris Kornfeld, Audrey Heffernan Meyer, and Daniel Plimpton.

Aaron Simon Gross is directing the reading. Previously, we've presented songs from the show at The Duplex and as part of Golden Fleece's Square One Series. The musical tells the story of two brothers whose long-standing rivalries come to a head when they find themselves ensnared in the financial crisis of 2007-8. Burned asks what we owe each other, and what we are owed.

The show has a rock score, and you can hear Owen Beans performing the title song here. February 3rd's reading will be held at Improv Asylum Theatre, 307 West 26th Street. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Hope you can make it!

Act One of BURNED Next Month

Next month, New York Theatre Barn will be kicking off the 13th season of their New Works Series with a reading of an abridged version of the first act of Burned, a new musical with a book by myself and music and lyrics by Joshua H. Cohen.

The reading will be held at 7:00 on Monday, February 3rd. It's being directed by Aaron Simon Gross. Josh and I are very excited to work with him, and while we can't announce our cast just yet, it's going to include some really talented people.

Burned was inspired by the play The Lucky One by A.A. Milne. It tells the story of two brothers whose relationship comes apart when one of them is arrested for financial fraud. Set against the 2007-08 financial crisis, the musical asks what we owe each other, and what we are owed.

Songs from Burned have been presented by the In the Works series at The Duplex, and by Golden Fleece's Square One. Josh and I have worked on two other musicals together, Ordinary Island (previously titled Maggie the Pirate) and (together with Lavell Blackwell) Keep on Walkin'.

Burned will be presented together with a selection from Johnny & the Devil's Box by J. Douglas Waterbury-Tieman, who is a member of The Lobbyists and was co-writer of the Drama Desk Award nominated musical SeaWife. It tells the story of a young man who believes he's the best fiddler that ever was, and aims to prove it, in spite of a diabolical challenge.

The full evening will be about 70 minutes and will be held at Improv Asylum, 307 West 26th Street in New York City. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. You can purchase advance tickets here.

Top Musicals of the Teens

To close out 2019, I'm making a list of the best new American musicals of the teens. I'm only including new American musicals (so no Matilda) that premiered in New York between 2013 and 2019.

No doubt many people will take issue with some of my choices, and wonder why some shows were left off the list. (Sorry, Allegiance and Amazing Grace! There was only so much room. And I never saw The Band's Visit.) Here they are:

10. Something Rotten - Okay, the egg joke runs a little too long, but this musical send-up of Shakespeare practically had me rolling in the aisle.

9. Fun Home - I honestly hated this show when I first saw it, but that was due to Sam Gold's horrible direction. The more I think about it, though, the more I think it might be Jeanine Tesori's best score yet.

8. Dear Evan Hansen - I have reservations about this show as well, but I still think it's far more clever than the critics who praised it blindly. Plus, it's hard to get "You Will Be Found" out of your head.

7.  A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder - This musical managed to escape from development and copyright-law hell in order to win the Tony in 2014. It remains one of my favorite shows of the decade.

6. Desperate Measures - This Off-Broadway gem in one of the smartest shows of the decade, and it deserves to have a long life on the regional circuit. I never would have thought of turning Measure for Measure into a Wild West musical comedy... but it works!

5. Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 - I saw the Off-Broadway incarnation of this play in 2013, and loved it just as much when I saw in on Broadway four years later. Dave Malloy's music is enchanting, and the show manages to craft a small portion of Tolstoy's novel into a stage show that packs a major punch.

4. Unlock'd - Like Desperate Measures, this show had a brief Off-Broadway run, but needs to be seen by far more people. Its source material, Alexander Pope's The Rape of the Lock, was equally unpromising for a musical comedy, but in addition to being as witty as Pope, it also manages to find adventure, pathos, and even wisdom.

3. Tamar of the River - This epic piece by Marisa Michelson and Joshua H. Cohen is one of the most ambitious shows to premiere in New York during the teens. Nothing else sounds quite like it, and if you don't believe me, buy the cast album. The story, taken very loosely from the book of Genesis, remains as important today as it was when the show premiered Off-Broadway in 2013.

2. Hadestown - Though I've yet to see the Broadway version of Hadestown, and the London production left me rather cold, when I saw the show at New York Theatre Workshop it blew me away. The cast recording of that production remains a frequently visited place on my iPod, and not just because of Patrick Page's amazing performance of "Why We Build the Wall." Anais Mitchell's play is one of the best explorations of tragedy the American theater has produced in recent years.

1. Hamilton - This choice should come as no surprise. Lin-Manuel Miranda came into his own with this show, crafting both music and lyrics that resonate on multiple levels. Sometimes the show has to play a little fast and loose with history, but rather than being simply a glorification of Alexander Hamilton, it recognizes his flaws, and even pays tribute to the musical's villain, Aaron Burr. Perhaps most movingly, it rescues Eliza Hamilton from the dustbin of history, writing her back into the narrative.

Who will write the top musicals of the '20s? Miranda? Mitchell? Michelson and Cohen? Maybe all of the above.

When Your Mom Is a Sex Therapist

Last night, I saw Lola Maltz's show My Mom Is a Sex Therapist at The Duplex. I first saw the piece back in 2013 (also at The Duplex), but it has grown and deepened considerably since then.

Maltz (who previously went by Cara Maltz) tells about her life in story and song, accompanied by pianist Garrit Guadan, and in this version by two other instrumentalists as well, giving the musical a full band.

Calling it a one-woman show would be somewhat inaccurate, as Maltz and Guadan engage in plenty of scripted banter on stage, including in the song "He Likes Me." Maltz also gets the audience to join in during the chorus of the song "Love Yourself" which provides some hysterical double entendres.

Songwriter Joshua H. Cohen has added a few new numbers for the piece, and fortunately his music fits Maltz's voice perfectly. If you get a chance to see it in a future incarnation, don't miss out!

Get BURNED this Sunday!

If you're free on Sunday, you might want to come out to The Duplex Cabaret Theatre to hear songs from Burned, a new musical I’m writing with Joshua H. Cohen.

Burned is based loosely on A.A. Milne's play The Lucky One, but is reset during the 2007-08 financial crash. It has a rock-influenced score that is a pure joy to listen to.

We're presenting four songs from the musical as part of The Duplex's new composers series, In the Works. The songs will be performed by four great singers, Joan Barber, Owen Beans, Andrew Mayer, and Erin Leigh Peck.

You'll also get to hear some songs by Patricia Noonan and Sean Mahoney, as well as the duo Pretty Sad White Girls. Andrew David Sotomayor is hosting the evening, which was put together by Honeck-Moss Productions.

The event is this upcoming Sunday, January 28, at 9:30 p.m. in the cabaret theatre of the Duplex, 61 Christopher Street, in Greenwich Village.

There is a $10 cover plus a 2-drink minimum, but you can use the code "Cohen" for $5 off the cover.

For more information, go here:

http://www.theduplex.com/site/in-the-works-4/1313

Hope you can make it!

BURNED at The Duplex

The composer Joshua H. Cohen and I will be premiering four songs from our new musical Burned at The Duplex Cabaret Theatre on Sunday, January 28th.

We'll be presenting the songs as a part of "In The Works," an evening put together by Honeck-Moss Productions. It will also include songs by Sean Mahoney, Patricia Noonan, and Pretty Sad White Girls. The evening is being hosted by Andrew David Sotomayor.

Singing for us will be Owen Beans, Erin Leigh Peck, Joan Barber, and Andrew Mayer. Owen will be reprising his role as Bob, which he sang when we debuted four different songs from the show last May as a part of Golden Fleece's Square One Series.

The show begins at 9:30 pm. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. There is also a two-drink minimum, and you must be 21 or over to enter.

The Duplex is located at 61 Christopher Street, at the corner of 7th Avenue in Greenwich Village. Hope to see you there!

Our First Read of BURNED

Tonight, composer Joshua H. Cohen and I had our first table read of our new musical Burned.

We debuted some songs from Burned earlier this year as a part of Golden Fleece's Square One Series. Hana Slevin and Owen Beans sang the parts of Pamela and Gerald, and they helped us out again tonight, reading those same roles.

Burned is inspired by A.A. Milne's play The Lucky One about two brothers and their shifting fortunes. We’ve reset the piece during the 2008 financial crisis. We also gender swapped the character of the family lawyer, which worked quite well when read this evening by Erin Leigh Peck.

Other actors who read for us included Doug Rossi, Mat Hostetler, Gordon Stanley, Nick Luckenbaugh, Ali Gordon, and Joan Barber. Thanks to all involved!

BURNED Songs Debut Tomorrow

Come out tomorrow to Studios 353 where songs and scenes from my new musical Burned will be presented as a part of Golden Fleece's Square One Series.

Songwriter Joshua H. Cohen has written some wonderful lyrics and provided a great rock score for the piece. The musical is loosely based on A.A. Milne's play The Lucky One, but is reset during the 2008 financial crisis.

I've had fun working on the book, a few pieces of which you'll hear, along with Josh's songs "Go," "Carry the Light," "Burned," and "Shelter in the Rain." Hana Slevin, Richard Binder, and Owen Beans are performing.

The reading will be at 8:00 Sunday night on the second floor of 353 W. 48th Street. It will be accompanied by other works by Ben Boecker, Laurel Haines, and others. Admission is $10.

For reservations and more information, call Golden Fleece at 212-691-6105.

Songs from BURNED

A week from Sunday, songwriter Joshua H. Cohen and I will be presenting songs and scenes from our new musical Burned as a part of Golden Fleece's Square One Series at Studios 353.

Josh and I have been working on this piece for a while. Inspired by A.A. Milne's play The Lucky One but reset during the 2008 financial crisis, the musical follows the course of two brothers and their shifting fortunes.

We have a great cast of singers, including Owen Beans, Richard Binder, and Hana Sleven, who will present four songs and a couple of scenes. The performance will be at 8:00 on May 7th, on the second floor of 353 W. 48th Street. Come if you can!

True Story

A week from today, Joshua H. Cohen's cabaret show True Story will play at the Duplex. I have my tickets already, and I am psyched about seeing the show.

All thirteen of the songs being performed are inspired by real life events. Performers will include Richard Binder, Troy Burton, Jessica Cannizzaro, Anne Cohen, Alex de Suze, Victoria Huston-Elem, Brett Macias, Brian Charles Rooney, and Hana Slevin.

If you're interested in tickets, go here:

TRUE STORY

Flight School

Yesterday I saw the delightful new children's musical Flight School at the Vital Theatre. Based on a picture book by Lita Judge, the play tells the story of a penguin who wants to learn to fly. What could be cuter than that?

Vital's music adaptation features a book by Cara Lustick and songs by David Mallamud and Joshua H. Cohen. I've long been an admirer of Mallamud's The Strange Affair of Doctor Crippen, and I've worked with Josh on a number of of pieces, including Keep On Walkin'.

The play shows a bevy of birds ready to learn how to fly from Teacher, a flamingo played by Ashtia Jewell. When Penguin, played by Jennifer Smith, arrives by boat, the other birds are skeptical. With a round body and a big belly, Penguins just aren't meant to fly. However, the play teaches children that there is a place for everyone, regardless of body type, and it is refreshing to see a protagonist unapologetic about a large stomach.

Mallamud's music is recorded, not live, but that didn't seem to phase the children in the audience. Penguin forms a friendship with a bookish owl (played by Alie B. Gorrie) that warms the heart, and even though our protagonist is never able to really fly, with a little help from friends, Penguin does manage to glide.

The show is recommended for children ages 2-7, so if you have any young ones in that age group, take them! You can find out more about the show here:

Vital Theatre

Keep On Walkin'

Last night, I got back from Durham, New Hampshire, where the University of New Hampshire put on my musical Keep On Walkin'. The play was the 2012 winner of the Anna Zornio Memorial Children's Theatre Playwrighting Award, and this production was part of the prize.

The play tells the story of a white girl on Staten Island who becomes pen pals with an African American girl in Montgomery, Alabama. Through the eyes of these two girls, we meet a young preacher named Martin Luther King, Jr. who is leading a boycott of segregated buses in Montgomery.

Lavell Blackwell composed the music for the piece, and Joshua H. Cohen wrote the lyrics. This production was directed by Raina Ames, who did a wonderful job bringing the play to life. The set, designed by David Kaye, was divided with two kitchen tables on each side and a prominent pulpit between the two. Above the stage were three screens that displayed projections designed by Natalie Bujeaud.

Our two leads were wonderful. Kaia Lontine-Kearson, who really is 13 years old, played the Montgomery girl, June Johnson. Katharine Paiva, who will graduate UNH next year, played May Masina, the girl from Staten Island. Though she is considerably older, I certainly believed her as thirteen years old, and the two actresses' voices melded beautifully onstage.

Other fine performances came from Robert Collinge II as May's father and Brian Walker as her older brother. Freshman Rebekah Londoff did a wonderful job playing a variety of roles, including May's teacher, a white woman who confronts June in Montgomery, and former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

Special praise, however, belongs to Michael Turner, an alumnus of UNH who returned to play Dr. King in this production. Turner nailed King's cadences, both when speaking and when singing. We were very fortunate to have him as part of the production.

Szu-Feng Chen designed colorful costumes that evoked the 1950s, and Ally Foy provided some lively choreography, especially toward the end of the play. The cast also benefited greatly from the musical direction of John Berst.

Lavell, Josh, and I all hope that Keep On Walkin' will continue to have a life in the future, so watch this blog for more information about the show in the future!

Walkin' Later This Month!

This month will be the World Premier of the musical Keep On Walkin', with songs by Lavell Blackwell and Joshua H. Cohen and a book by yours truly, James Armstrong.

The play is a recipient of the Anna Zornio Playwriting Award. It follows the story of two young girls who became pen pals by chance during the throes of the civil rights movement. The cast includes Robert Collinge II, Rebekah Londoff, Kaia Lontine-Kearson, Katherine Paiva, Michael Turner, and Brian Walker. Raina Ames directs.

Performances run February 18th through the 22nd at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. Tickets are $12 for the general public. UNH students and youths 17 and under can get in for $8. As this is a family musical, we are encouraging people to bring their children.

You can purchase tickets here:

KEEP ON WALKIN'

Hope to see you at the show!

Keep On Walkin' opens this February!

My musical for young audiences, Keep On Walkin', with songs by Lavell Blackwell and Joshua H. Cohen, is scheduled to open at the University of New Hampshire in Durham this February.

Raina Ames will be directing the production at UNH's Johnson Theatre. It will run February 18-22, which includes daytime performances for school groups. The play was the winner of the Anna Zornio Playwriting Award for Children's Theatre, which is given out in conjunction with the UNH's Department of Theatre and Dance.

Keep On Walkin' follows the stories of two young girls on opposite sides of the color line who become pen pals during the early days of the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s. It was originally directed by Christopher Catt in a workshop. It had a staged reading in Manhattan and a few performances at schools on Staten Island.

This world premiere production, however, looks like it's going to be very special, so if you're in the area this February, please come out and see it!

You can find more information here:

UNH Department of Theatre and Dance

http://cola.unh.edu/theatre-dance/current-season

Your Mom!

If you haven't seen Cara Maltz's new show My Mom Is a Sex Therapist, get down to The Duplex today by 3:30 for the last performance. The songs (mostly by Joshua H. Cohen, with a title song by Keith Varney) are quite lovely, and some of Maltz's stories are hysterical.

The opening number, "My Mommy is a Therapist," sets the tone for the piece perfectly, and Maltz does a wonderful job portraying a little kid as she explains to her classmates what her mom does for a living. Maltz also portrays the titular mother in the show, most memorably in the song "Love Yourself," naively explaining some of the facts of life to her daughter in a way no child wants to hear a parent speak--ever.

Though the play is billed as a one-woman musical, Maltz interacts quite a bit with her accompanist, Garrit Guadan. During my favorite song in the piece, "He Likes Me," Guadan interrupts several times, pointing out the warning signs as Maltz's character dates progressively worse and worse men.

Some of the show's success should also be attributed to director Stephan Varnier and to costume designer Nicholas Hartmann, who both give the audience a few surprises.

So see it now! (You know your mom would want you to....)

Tamar, Take Three

Last night, I saw Prospect Theater Company's production of Tamar of the River for the third time. Honestly, I kept liking it more and more each time I saw it.

The lyrics by Joshua H. Cohen are subtle, but the more I listened to them, the more I liked them. One of the things I noticed this time around is that after Tamar accepts Er, his stuttering stops. Having him go from inarticulate to eloquent is really wonderful.

The voice of the River speaks in many voices, many languages, and sometimes just in sonorous sounds. Those sounds, whether we understand them or not (frequently we are not meant to) fit together perfectly with the music by Marisa Michelson.

There are also a number of wonderful bits of humor, such when the River speaks to Tamar, and she answers simply, "Me?" Oddly enough, the audience did not laugh at these parts as they had on the previous times I saw the piece. Still, based on the smiles on the audience's faces, they clearly enjoyed the show.