Simon SEEZ: "The Other Josh Cohen" (at the Paper Mill Playhouse through March 16,2014)

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

"The Other Josh Cohen" (at the Paper Mill Playhouse through March 16,2014)

Left to right Ken Triwush, Kate Wetherhead, Hannah Elles, David Rossmer, Vadim Feichtner, Steve Rosen, Cathryn Salamone (photo credit: Billy Bustamonte)

Traditionalists, i.e. long-time Paper Mill Playhouse subscribers as well as one-show-at-a-time ticket buyers, have a surprise, actually a treat, in store for them with the current production of The Other Josh Cohen . Although it garnered hugely enthusiastic reviews and had a short run Off Broadway in 2012 , it is still relatively unknown in the canon of musicals and represents an adventurous choice for this thousand-seat theater.

Noteworthy is how beautifully and effectively this relatively small-scale farcical musical with a big heart fills up the stage. Although Valentine's Day has come and gone, it plays an important role in this funny, touching, clever and musically lively (yes, all of that) ode to pathetic but lovable mensch Josh Cohen. He's a guy who just can't get a break, make a good living, or find the right woman.

It is the work of David Rossmer and Steve Rosen, who not only collaborated on the book, music and lyrics but also share the honor and rewards of playing the role(s) of Josh Cohen; that is as a before and as a now Josh Cohen and often together at the same time. Confused? Good. Because so is disheartened Josh who can't understand why he is so unlucky in love and why his life seems to be nothing but a torrent of rejections and disappointments. (to read the complete review please go to CurtainUp http://curtainup.com/joshcohennj.html

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About Simon

Born, raised, and educated in New Jersey, Simon has remained true to his home state. Recently a widower, he continues to live there where he contributes theater reviews and features to CurtainUp, the print publication US 1 Newspaper, Princeton and his blog SimonSeez. He was married for fifty years to LucyAnn Saltzman, Professor of Speech and Public Speaking in the Theater Department of Drew University.

With a short bow to practicality, Simon studied accounting and business law at Pace College, his heart always belonged to the theater. Even as he attempted to master the laws of debits and credits, he also studied acting and performed at the famed The New York Dramatic Workshop. During a stint of working for producer Saint Subber and passing the SEC/NASD exam he saw his name on a marquee for the first time, as associate producer of Gore Vidal's Weekend at the Broadhurst Theater in 1968. A year later he produced an Off-Broadway show under his own aegis — Frank Gagliano's City Scene starring Raul Julia, Michael Douglas and Lenny Baker. Finding his talents better suited to journalism than producing, Simon began writing theater criticism and features for numerous publications, a calling he pursues expertly and enthusiastically to this day.

Simon is the former President of the Outer Critics Circle. The theater bug has also bitten one of the Saltzman's two married children. Daughter Alice is the Associate Head of Acting Program for NYU students at the Stella Adler Studio. Alice's teenage son Ben has caught the acting/dancing bug with his eye on a theater career. Son James is Manager of Digital Media Service, University of N. Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill.