Theater Review: The Other Josh Cohen

Everyone has wished, at some point in their lives, to know that they’ll be okay in the future. Josh Cohen, in the charming musical The Other Josh Cohen, gets that wish granted, and we’re along for the ride.

Created and performed by Steven Rosen and David Rossmer, The Other Josh Cohen is, well, the story of a man named Josh Cohen. Josh Cohen (Steven Rosen) is kind of a shlub. He has a ho-hum life: he works for a temp agency, he has abandoned his dreams of being a writer, and he has never been successful romantically. In the week leading up to Valentine’s Day, his apartment is cleaned out by a robber; they leave him one Neil Diamond CD and a cat-a-day calendar. As he falls into despair, he is visited by himself, Josh Cohen (David Rossmer), a year in the future. He’s physically cleaned up and quite happy. So we know whatever journey Josh is about to go on is going to end well.

The rest of the zippy ninety minute show explains how Josh Cohen gets from loser to winner. He receives a letter in the mail from a woman in Florida—perhaps one of the multitude of Cohen relatives strewn across the country. Debating with himself on the ethical choice—keep the letter for himself or find the other Josh Cohen it was addressed to—Josh learns to stick to the good nature and goodness that is at his core. Up until this point that hasn’t particularly paid off, but, as future Josh Cohen is proof, it will (and it does in a heartwarming conclusion).

The production, under the direction of Hunter Foster, is a lot of fun. Both Rosen and Rossmer as Josh are engaging and funny performers. All of the actors play instruments to the side of (and on) center stage, rotating depending on who is a part of the main scene. The ensemble—Hannah Elless, Kate Wetherhead, Elizabeth Nestlerode, Luke Darnell, and Louis Tucci—are fabulous. Listed in the program with roles like “A Lot of Other People,” they each portray multiple characters throughout the show (and, yes, one of those characters is Neil Diamond played by Kate Wetherhead; she is fantastic!). The cast has a wonderful chemistry and clearly enjoy performing this show together which only makes the entire experience even more enjoyable for the audience.

While the music of The Other Josh Cohen may not stick with you after the show ends, the good feelings from a story about goodness and love will.

The Other Josh Cohen is playing at the Westside Theater. For more information and tickets, click here.

Photo Credit: Caitlin McNaney