Word: whizzer
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...value of family rather than family value" opened last night! If the above clever turn of phrase is not enough to attract you the the second performance, consider: How often does Harvard perform a Tony-Award winning musical? And how often does such a musical include a character named "Whizzer," whom "Marvin" is in love with...
...around Marvin (Brad Rouse), a middle aged gay man who is unwilling to sacrifice his dream of a close-knit family, no matter what the wishes of that 'family' might be. He brings together his frantic ex-wife Trina (Leslie Yahia), antisocial son Jason (Chris Terrio), and vain lover Whizzer (Michael Stone) all under one roof. Marvin's hapless efforts to fit all the pieces of his life together provide the comic energy of the first half. Flung into this house of neurotics is also Martin's less-than-stable psychiatrist, Mendel (Reese Snow), who is immediately love-struck...
...love each other but definitely love the sex. The chemistry between them is delicious. Each of these actors holds their own, with Rouse evoking that special mix of charm and egotism which makes his character so irresistible, and Stone winning the hearts of the audience for his earnestly superficial Whizzer...
...madcap emotional fumbling of the first act gives way to a more serious, slightly more disillusioned second act. Two years have passed; Trina and Mendel are married; Whizzer and Martin have broken up; and the "lesbians from next door" are always running in and out. It is the year of Jason's Bar Mitzvah, and the characters all seem to hope that this one pivotal event will smooth over their unstable lives. Whizzer, however, shows up again, complicating everything by getting back together with Martin, aggravating Trina, and, finally, falling mysteriously...
...filled as the first, but its satire of the Eighties is bitingly funny. Mendel most openly condemns the new decade: "half my patients/yuppie pagans/modeled on this/Ronald Reagan" Yet he and Trina seem to be living quite the yuppified Laura-Ashley-decorated lifestyle. In this act, real love develops between Whizzer and Martin, as does some of the loveliest music of the show. In these quiet, poignant moments, the cast's talent for handling emotion with delicacy and without melodrama and their collective vocal strength, is most clearly showcased...