‘The Other Josh Cohen” @ Circle Theatre
—Jan Farrington
So…who is the “other” Josh Cohen?
You’ll have to grab a ticket from Circle Theatre to find that out—and wade through the whole crazy story, with five people onstage (all wearing a “Josh” hat), and a past and present Josh talking to each other, before this young New Yorker’s bad year takes a turn.
Is it worth it? In a word, yes. In another word, go.
Steve Rosen and David Rossmer’s musical The Other Josh Cohen is goofily offbeat, sweet and heart-tugging, funny and full of gently lively (and hummable) tunes. I was having a grand time on opening night—but still, fifteen minutes from the end, I said to myself, “This better go somewhere good.”
And then it did.
Circle’s newly appointed artistic director Ashley H. White directs what looks like a very loosey-goosey production—but of course, it takes a ton of thought and work to bring off that casual vibe. She has a great cast to work with, starting with Ian Ferguson as Narrator Josh, strumming a guitar, talking to the audience, and playing along with the trio of musicians set at three corners of the stage. (Cody Dry is the music director—and an unofficial “extra” in the onstage fun.)
The story begins before we know it, with a burglary onstage. (Wait, why is the furniture disappearing?) And why is the opening song so upbeat?
[narrator josh]
i can tell you you’ll be fine!
i can tell your head is spinning!
you’ll learn losing everything is only the beginning!
[ensemble]
we’re stubborn jerks ’til we’re ready to listen
deaf as a post ’til we’re ready to hear
and we only learn to be ready the hard way
[narrator josh]
a lot’s gonna happen this year
And it does. Along with Ferguson (the narrator, remember?) are the talented Brian Hathaway, Cherish Love Robinson, Alejandro Saucedo, and Brett Warner (Micah Brooks and Kylie Stewart are the swings)—each of them called on to dance, sing, and portray not just Josh, but a scrum of other characters, from a useless landlord to a worried grandma living in Florida. A pleasure to watch, all of them, as they have fun and play off one another onstage.
Rosen and Rossmer have made it clear they don’t mind companies tinkering with the structure of the show. My guess is that Saucedo’s role retains some of the original idea that only two of the actors play the title character (Ferguson as right-now Josh and Saucedo as one-year-ago Josh?), with supporting roles spread among the rest of the ensemble. In Circle’s concept (and as director White notes in the program), “there’s a little bit of Josh Cohen in all of us”—so why not give all the actors a piece of him? It works, though perhaps by making the “ me this year/me last year” structure less clear.
Josh Cohen is a roller-coaster of laughs and laments, good days and disappointments, a funny, warm-hearted show with a welcome lift at the last—and something new and different to brighten our long, hot summer.
WHEN: August 24-September 16, 2023
WHERE: 230 West Fourth Street, Fort Worth TX
WEB: circletheatre.com
