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Don't be fooled by the ampersand. Him & Her is not one but actually two
separate musicals. Set in 1988, Him consists of a man with a twelve-string
guitar who sings about his fear of becoming a father. Set in 1993, Her
consists of a woman with a backup band who sings about living in "domestica"
while her husband fulfills his career goals. Him & Her-or, rather, he and
she-do not sing together or indeed interact in any way. They just sing and
talk about each other and have imaginary interactions. So far so good, but
these two one-person shows would be much more entertaining if they actually
went the whole way, with an ensemble cast. As Him, Paul Scott Goodman is
engaging, but he doesn't have the voice to carry a musical. At one point,
his character confides to the audience: "I should just be in a rock band
somewhere chasing scotch." We can't help but agree. Broadway veteran Liz
Larsen's Her has enough vivacity but too much vibrato. La la's aside,
though, Anderson's songs are sufficiently clever, catchy, and memorable to
make both musicals enjoyable. -- ELLEN CARPENTER
G3 Productions
Written by Paul Scott Goodman; directed by Miriam Gordon.
Where:
The Present Company Theatorium, 198 Stanton St.
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