Skintight

B-

If you are gay or Jewish or preferably both, have I got a play for you! Joshua Harmon (Bad Jews, Significant Other, Admissions) is back at Roundabout’s Laura Pels Theatre with this family dramedy that easily qualifies as a guilty pleasure. Idina Menzel (Wicked, If/Then) plays Jodi Isaac, a 40-something L.A. attorney, smarting from her ex-husband’s engagement to a 24-year-old. She turns up at the West Village townhouse of her father Elliot (Jack Wetherall; The Elephant Man, Tamara), a world-famous fashion designer (whose biographical details are extremely similar to one CK) on the eve of his 70th birthday, seeking love and comfort, but finding little of either. What she does find is Elliot’s studly new 20-year-old boy-toy Trey (Will Brittain), who introduces himself as her father’s live-in partner. Jodi’s gay son Benjamin (Eli Gelb; How My Grandparents Fell in Love), on a break from his year abroad pursuing Queer Studies in Budapest (I mean, really??), joins them to celebrate Elliot’s birthday. Jodi takes an immediate dislike to Trey; Benjamin doesn’t. Elliot notices. If you are looking for a truly sympathetic character here, you won’t find one, with the possible exception of the maid Orsolya (Cynthia Mace; The Suitcase under the Bed) or the butler Jeff (Stephen Carrasco; Anastasia, Kinky Boots). The main characters are so self-absorbed that it is difficult to relate to any of them except as caricatures. The play deals with our obsession with beauty and youth, the nature of love vs. lust, bad parenting, and a touch of Hungarian anti-Semitism. As in any Harmon play, there is lots of snappy dialogue. The cast has been well-chosen and works well as an ensemble. Lauren Helpern’s  (Bad Jews, 4000 Miles) ultramodern monochromatic two-story set doesn’t look like anything I would expect to find on Horatio Street. Jess Goldstein’s (The Rivals, The Mineola Twins) costumes are perfection. Daniel Aukin’s (Bad Jews, Admissions) direction is seamless. Don’t go if you are offended by same-sex relationships, intergenerational sex, raunchy language or near-nudity. I found it very entertaining, but instantly forgettable. Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes including intermission.