I can’t believe I have fallen for a schlub with a cheesy mustache and a Star Wars shower curtain. But, hey, I’m not the only one who’s succumbed to the silly charm of The Other Josh Cohen. There’s a reason this zingy little musical has gone from downtown’s Soho Playhouse to New Jersey’s Paper Mill Playhouse to Rochester’s Geva Theatre Center to, now, finally, off-Broadway’s cozy Westside Theatre. Josh Cohen—played with a goofball grin by Steve Rosen, who also cowrote the book, music, and lyrics—is a drugstore candy–loving hopeless romantic, and the only Valentine’s Day card he’ll get is from his mom. How can you not root for this guy?
Also, technically, he doesn’t have a Star Wars shower curtain anymore, because at the start of the show his apartment has been robbed. “Burglary’s a New York rite of passage, people swear/ Like the first time you see Elmo/ Take his head off in Times Square,” sings Narrator Josh (an acoustic guitar–strumming David Rossmer, the show’s other cowriter) in the toe-tapping “Only the Beginning,” as he and Rosen’s Josh Cohen retell the story of a fateful Valentine’s Day burglary.
The thief stole pretty much everything—including Josh’s only porno (Oversexed Injury Lawyers) and a much-anticipated bundt cake (Narrator Josh: “Yeah, I was definitely eating a lot at that time.” Josh Cohen: “You don’t have to tell them that.”). All he left, weirdly, was one Neil Diamond CD—to which our hero will soon grow very attached—and, for obvious reasons, a page-a-day “Hang On Kitties” calendar, a gift from his beloved Aunt Bea.
[Read Michael Sommers’ ★★★★ review here.]
Then he gets $56,000 in the mail. No card, no return address, just a check for $56,000 made out to Josh Cohen, from Irma Cohen of West Palm Beach, Fla. Except Josh doesn’t know an Irma Cohen. He tries consulting with Aunt Bea, aka “Ancestry.com in a ’70s track suit,” which gives rise to the terrifically snappy “Samuel Cohen’s Family Tree” (don’t miss the “La la la, la la la. Lesbians/ La la, Jewish lesbians, la la” chorus). But he’s still facing a massive moral dilemma: Cash the check and buy all the bundt cake he wants, or pay the $2.99 to call 411 and get Irma’s number? In case the answer isn’t glaringly obvious, Josh’s neighbor is there to remind him that he’s “a good egg.”
Luke Darnell, Hannah Elless, Elizabeth Nestlerode, Louis Tucci, Kate Wetherhead play all the supporting roles, including his high school Valentine, Jen, “a blend of Sporty Spice and Gertrude Stein”; Josh’s technologically challenged dentist dad; Neil Diamond, who leads the power ballad “Hang On” (how I wish I’d had a lighter to hold up during that one!); Irma’s granddaughter Diane, who, Josh tells us, “thinks porn’s kinda fun” and (cliché alert!) likes doing The New York Times crossword in pen; and even an inspiring calendar kitty. Between lickety-split wig and costume changes, they also play just about every instrument you can imagine. They deserve all the Valentine’s Day candy.
The Other Josh Cohen opened Nov. 12, 2018, and runs through Feb. 24, 2019, at the Westside Theatre (Downstairs). Tickets and information: otherjoshcohen.com
