Martha (Katie Oxman, left), Claire (Jennifer Dinolfo), and Frank (J.D. Daw) look on as Timmy (Julian Diaz-Granados) eulogizes his dead fish.
Parents who love their children often give them mixed messages, and children who get mixed messages often give their parents problems. Such is the case with Timmy, whose often rocky and self-centered relationship with his parents in the new musical comedy I Love My Family But… is followed from infancy through marriage, divorce—and the latter’s repercussions. This relationship most certainly qualifies as a I Love My Family But… situation.
Songwriting duo Lauren Gundrum (lyrics) and Brandon Lambert (lyrics and music) parody the ever-changing emotional roller coaster of angst, frustration, and joy in the parent-child relationship that often upsets the balance of reciprocal love. Much of the interaction of Timmy (Julian Diaz-Granados) with his parents Martha (Katie Oxman) and Frank (J.D. Daw) is complicated by their differing parenting styles and their slightly dysfunctional marriage. Martha and Frank have unfulfilled professional dreams, and Frank would like Timmy to have more than his own working-class existence.
Martha (Oxman) and Frank (Daw) share a romantic moment. Photographs by Wendy Gundrum.
Stir into this mix Claire (Jennifer Dinolfo), one precocious busybody and a provocative girl neighbor who always seems to be at Timmy’s house. What results is a hilarious merry-go-round. Everybody seems to be refusing to let go of Timmy, and once he is let go, Timmy refuses to make choices—like having a career other than acting—that would keep him financially viable.
In comedy, timing is everything, and director Guy Stroman keeps it so precise, and the beats so sharp, that the musical numbers and dialogue seamlessly fall into place and the jokes keep coming. On a stage that barely can contain stools and four adult actors, Stroman examines the life cycle of Timmy, from life as a baby to socially inept elementary school birthday boy (and the only one at his own party) to a teen curious about sex (and suddenly interested in the now physically mature Claire) and adulthood. It happens in a matter of minutes.
The storyline (Gundrum and Lambert co-wrote the book) may be light fare, but the music is tightly packed and intensely delivered. In 80 minutes of showtime, there are 19 songs. Alex Ratner, music director, sits at a keyboard offstage, at the left side of the Huron Club, a small bar/cafe venue that doubles as the theater. He is a one-man musical accompaniment to the talented cast. Not only do they act and sing, but they dance—and choreographer Sierra Lai Barnett has made the dance numbers look elegant and easy.
It’s a tough job for any performer, particularly one who is onstage in virtually every scene, and without benefit of costume change or makeup enhancements, to portray a character at multiple ages. Yet each of the four actors representing the four characters manages to do that credibly. Yes, there is baby Timmy, represented by a doll in a blue blanket (clearly just a doll), but even that can be overlooked when the songs are so riveting. And then there is the comic.
Perhaps the play’s funniest scene is the funeral for Timmy’s fish Bubbles. The family toilet, center stage, is already an indication that what is about to happen borders on weird. How many kids eulogize their fish and their relationship to other members of the species in the tank? The family and Claire indulge Timmy in his emotional catharsis, singing about fish heaven.
There is a place in heaven
A shelter in the sky
Where good pets wait
For their owners to also die
Just when you think Timmy will flush the fish away, he hesitates and utters prayers and praises. As ludicrous as this sounds, it’s true that the bonds between children and pets are deep and long-lasting.
Frank (Daw) looks on as an incredulous Martha (Oxman, right) finds out that Timmy will marry Claire (Dinolfo).
The scenarios may seem exaggerated, but much about the play is universal. What parents have not experienced the awkwardness of teaching children about the birds and the bees, only to find out that they are way behind the curveball and the kids have as much or more information than they would have gotten from us?
The “we are friends” to “we are boyfriend/girlfriend” and then “man and wife” scenes involving Claire and Timmy, and Frank and Martha as in-laws, have universal appeal. Martha is unprepared to let go of Timmy and flabbergasted that Claire will be the one to take him away. The play’s sadder, less credible development is the young couple’s breakup at a point when, from the audience’s vantage point, their relationship has barely gotten off the ground.
Still, the show’s strengths are its songs, the combined vocal prowess of its stars (they all have A-level voices) and its humor. For those alone, it’s worth coming out on a cold winter night.
I Love My Family But… runs at the Soho Playhouse, 15 Vandam St., through April 8. Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:00 P.M. To purchase tickets, or for more information, call (212) 691-1555 or contact boxoffice@sohoplayhouse.com.
