Review by Elyse Trevers
It is said that a clown laughing on the outside is crying on the inside. So it is with “The Bedwetter,“ the musical at the Atlantic Theater based upon the autobiography of comedian Sarah Silverman.
For 10-year-old Sarah, life was good until her father’s infidelities led to her parent’s divorce and their relocation to a new town. Prior to Sarah’s birth, the couple lost their three-month-old son in a crib accident. Sarah’s lovely intelligent mother ( a restrained Caissie Levy) confines herself to bed where she is totally immersed in People magazine and tv shows. Nana who often fills in for her mother is a brutally honest alcoholic (wonderful Bebe Neuwirth) who consoles Sarah singing that “you are perfect…to me.”
The show focuses on the irrepressible Sarah (talented Zoe Glick ) who repeats the off-colored jokes she hears, can imitate the farting noises of any celebrity and can mix a perfect Manhattan for her grandmother. But Sarah has a problem which becomes apparent to her new friends when they have a sleepover. Sarah wets the bed.
Traumatized, Sarah is depressed and her father (Darren Goldstein)
takes her to a psychiatrist who prescribes Xanax (in a clever, funny chorus number with dancing pills.) Later, that same psychiatrist commits suicide.
The strong cast also consists of Ellyn Marie Marsh and Rick Crom in all the other adult roles. In addition, there are Sarah’s three classmates and her pretty older sister (Laura Zimmerman) who is embarrassed at her outgoing unfiltered sister. Providing comic relief and silliness, Miss New Hampshire (Ashley Blanchet) manages to come through the TV screen to reassure Sarah.
Despite the humor and the show is filled with it, there is a dark side to “The Bedwetter” and too much for a ten-year-old to cope with.
Much of the musical is comedian Sarah Silverman’s own true story which she shares unabashedly. In fact, she suffered with a bedwetting problem until she was 16. With music by the late Adam Schlessinger, the play is really entertaining and poignant. Trying to make news friends, Sarah mocks herself, making her quirkiness funny. She disarms them with her candor and humor and Schlesinger’s music is delightful.
Despite the pain, and there’s a lot of it, especially as Sarah becomes depressed and withdrawn, the general tone of the show is light. The script by Josh Harmon is sharp and moves quickly, filled with jokes and quips.
Unfortunately, the show isn’t appropriate for kids, despite the fact that Sarah overcomes what seem like insurmountable issues. There could be many teachable moments, but the frequent use of crude language (which had the audience in hysterics especially coming from the mouth of a ten-year-old) limits a younger audience.
Well-directed by Anne Kauffman, the show has a limited run. “The Bedwetter” is a funny, often hilarious musical with a serious side. Too bad more people won’t get to experience it.
