The Other Josh Cohen and KING KONG – A Contrast in Musical Theatre
The Other Josh Cohen Steve Rosen and David Rossmer Photo credit: Caitlin McNaney
An adorable little musical named The Other Josh Cohen is the perfect entertainment vehicle to escape from the brutish headlines and situations that assault us every day, simply because it’s just delightful.
A nerdy Josh Cohen is looking to make some money, meet a nice girl, and finally have things go his way. You see, Josh is stymied most of the time, but things change when he receives a check in the mail, realizes it’s not for him…and finds out about the other Josh Cohen.
The brilliance of this super funny, inventive show is that all of the characters not only act and sing, they play musical instruments…multiple musical instruments, and characters, effortlessly.
Christiani Pitts and King Kong Photo credit: Matthew Murphy
A breezy 90 minute, no intermission show, this piece is written by David Rossmer and Steve Rosen who also star in the musical. Directed by Hunter Foster, The Other Josh Cohen is clever, fun and so very entertaining.
At Westside Theatre through Feb. 24. http://otherjoshcohen.com/
And now, a transition…from a small gem of a musical to a mammoth, massive behemoth of a show.. KING KONG.
The best way to describe this piece is that it is a spectacle. A feat of technology and art coming together. The sound design is awe-inspiring and Tony worthy, as is the inventive set. And then there is Kong himself. This puppet is astounding, and seems to come to life on stage. With numerous handlers operating Kong on the ground and in his head, the way he responds, sniffs, roars, moves, stomps, picks up Anne, nudges her, and finally looks so very sad and sympathetic is what makes the show fascinating.
The wizardry of Kong is the star of the show, and kind of eclipses everything else.
The music is okay, with just a couple of good songs, that Christiani Pitts, who plays Ann Darrow, gets to belt. Kudos to this young, lithe actress who is often found in the grip of the creature, riding on his back or flown around the stage. King Kong is a physically demanding show and I found myself sitting forward in my seat when Kong (and his amazing handlers) took the stage. Once, Kong even ventured to the very edge to delight the audience in the front row. But this show is all about the effects, the technology, set design, lighting and sound. It was no surprise to me when King Kong’s handlers and Kong himself got the biggest applause during the curtain call.
https://kingkongbroadway.com/
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Valerie Smaldone is a 5-time Billboard Magazine Award winner and is well known for her unprecedented success holding the #1 on-air position in the New York radio market on 106.7 Life-FM, an iHeart station. She has hosted, produced, and created several award-winning nationally syndicated programs featuring in-depth interviews with stars like Paul McCartney, Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, Elton John and Mariah Carey among others. Her radio talk show "Bagels and Broadway" highlighted theatre and food personalities. She is an accomplished interviewer and voice artist heard on commercials, narrations, promos and audiobooks, as well as a sought after live announcer.
Most recently, Valerie produced and directed a film, The Thursday Night Club, featuring pop diva Gloria Gaynor in her movie acting debut. She is one of the creators and producers of a docu-series, Divine Renovation, starring Erik Estrada, on streaming networks soon.
