Review by Ron Fassler . . .
With their new musical My Joy is Heavy, the husband-and-wife team of Abigail Bengson and Shaun Bengson have returned to the New York theatre scene with yet more stories and song of a highly autobiographical nature. This is what they do, confessional theatre. Having seen some of their prior works like Hundred Days, The Keep Going Songs, and my personal favorite, The Lucky Ones, their new show, which opened this week at the New York Theatre Workshop in the East Village, is yet another successful notch in their belt. The truthful emotion of both happiness and pain that are the core of their down-to-earth, heartfelt, raw music keeps thing afloat for a riveting 70-minutes, rarely succumbing to anything maudlin. Perhaps it’s Abigail’s abundant, positive energy that keeps things buoyant, or the sterling support of which Shaun seems perpetually capable. But whatever the alchemy, the series of events that transpire serve to bring the audience closer to the people onstage who are experiencing it. For a musical, that’s as real as it gets.
Under the excellent direction of Rachel Chavkin (Hadestown, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812), on Lee Jellinek’s deconstructed set depicting a ramshackle old house in Vermont, the haunted action is set during the early days of the 2020 pandemic shutdown. The Bengsons, with their four-year-old son, Louie, have moved into Abigail’s childhood home, now solely inhabited by her mother, Kathy. Cut off from their world while simultaneously working on a new musical commission, their instinctive fears of what’s coming next somehow include the decision to have another child. All along the journey, we witness their tremulous situation that goes from precarious to perilous. Through song, messages of anger, hope, renewal, nerves, and stasis, create a good deal of food for thought in addition to the occasional PTSD. The staging is tight, added immeasurably by actual home movies shot at the Bengsons’ pandemic hideout six years ago that are projected across the sprawling set. There’s lovely lighting by Alan C. Edwards and evocative costuming from by Hahnji Jang, but it is the bold strength of David Bengali’s video design that almost becomes another character in the piece. Not to mention that tucked away in a hidden corner of the set behind some screens is a sextet of talented musicians who keep things humming, sometimes called upon to play a character or two as well. The limited choreography is provided by Steph Paul and Or Matias’s musical supervision helps bring out every bit of the raucous and often glorious score created by the Bengsons. Credit too to the effortless sound design from Nick Kourtides.
My Joy is Heavy, with its mix of rock, bluegrass, folk and pop, has been described as an electro-folk sound. To these uneducated musical ears, it not only sings to me, but I was all in during in the finale when a trumpet and trombone are employed in the house to joyous effect.
At the top of the evening, Abigail speaks to us while the house lights are still full. She distracts us with her charm, making jokes, telling us it’s okay even if we feel the need to get up and go to the bathroom (“I won’t be offended”). We are essentially instructed to sit back, relax and enjoy the show. So, no worries and no pressure. Even with a title like My Joy is Heavy, you won’t be bought down. On the contrary, it uplifts.
Photos by Marc J. Franklin.
Headline photo: Shaun and Abigail Bengson in My Joy is Heavy.
