It Must Be Him
Kenny Solms is the co-creator and writer of The Carol Burnett Show. His new play, It Must Be Him, is now playing for a very limited engagement at the very nice Off Broadway Theatre, The Jay Sharp Theatre that is located at 416 West 42nd Street in New York City. The cast is an impressive group including three –time Emmy Award Nominee Peter Scolari, Liz Torres, Stephanie D’Abruzzo (Avenue Q), Ryan Duncan (Alter Boys), John Treacy Egan (The Producers, Bob Ari (The Constant Wife), Jonathan C. Kaplan (Tony Award Nominee for Falsettos), Alice Playten (Tony Award Nominee for Henry Sweet Henry), Edward Staudenmayer (Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me), Patrick Cummings (Happiness), Harris Doran (Love Jerry) and Tyler Wright (Sweeney Todd). The show is directed by Daniel Cuter (Associate Director to Hal Prince). Unfortunately all this talent seems wasted in this sketchy comedy.
The whole “Play” is, sad to say, like a bad episode of the writer’s hey day writing for Carol Burnett. I call it sketchy because there is not much of a play here except for a rudimentary story of a has- been writer (Scolari) trying for one last try at happiness, both personal and professional. Oh yes, he is trying to come out too. He is visited by dead parents, ex girlfriends, and imagines a series of vignettes as he tries to find a suitable outlet for his play. One of these vignettes is an S and M musical with the cast dressed in leather and singing about the pleasures of bondage, dildos, chains, etc. This sequence was awkward and embarrassing.
The acting is uneven with Scolari pushing very hard to make it funny. Actors do this sometimes in an attempt to make poor material work. Nonetheless it was fun to see him live in full neurotic glory. Liz Torres is funny as a dry witted Latina maid but it is a tired conceit. The rest of the cast does their best but likewise some follow Scolari’s lead a push even harder. I see plays like this often in Los Angeles where writers are cut lose while they are still relatively young. Many write plays when they aren’t really comfortable in that format. Kenny Solms is a funny man and lots of his jokes do land but these moments don’t make a play. It Must be Him is playing at the Jay Sharp Theatre until Sept. 26th.