Sunday, May 15, 2022

The Bedwetter

A-

While I had not previously thought of Atlantic Theater Company as the go-to place for creative new musicals, I have changed my mind. The two most enjoyable musicals I have seen this year – Kimberly Akimbo and now The Bedwetter – were on the stage of their Linda Gross Theater.  When Sarah Silverman’s memoir appeared several years ago, composer Adam Schlesinger approached her with the idea of turning it into a musical. Schlesinger wrote the music, the two of them collaborated on the lyrics and Silverman enlisted noted playwright Joshua Harmon to work with her on the book. David Yazbek acted as creative consultant. The long-awaited result of their collaboration is finally here in previews and it is a hit. (Tragically, Schlesinger did not live to see it; he died of COVID two years ago.) The creative team has produced a very funny, very raunchy show with juicy roles for the nine women and two men in the cast. The music and the book are extremely well-integrated, with each song contributing materially to the action. The story describes Sarah’s (Zoe Glick) experiences when she was ten, newly arrived in a small New Hampshire town after her parents’ divorce, struggling to make friends and shamed by a bedwetting problem. Her mother (Lauren Marcus, u/s for Caissie Levy) is too depressed to get out of bed, her father (Darren Goldstein) is serially unfaithful, her older sister (Emily Zimmerman) avoids her and her grandmother (the wonderful Bebe Neuwirth) is an alcoholic. We also meet two of Sarah’s doctors (both played by Rick Crom), her teacher (Ellyn Marie Marsh), three of her classmates (Charlotte Elizabeth Curtis, Charlotte Macleod, and Annabelle Wachtel [u/s for Margot Weintraub]) and Miss New Hampshire (Ashley Blanchet). While Sarah's situation hardly sounds like a barrel of laughs, Silverman can find the humor in almost anything. Laura Jellinek’s set is efficiently versatile. Kaye Voyce’s costumes, especially the schoolgirls’, are a delight. The audience was extremely receptive. If the thought of a ten-year old mouthing expletives upsets you, this is not the show for you. If that’s not a problem, go to the Atlantic website and book your tickets now! Once word is out, this will be a very hot ticket. Running time: two hours including intermission.

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