It Shoulda Been You, is a musical comedy for anyone with parents. The bride is Jewish. The groom is Catholic. Her mother is a force of nature, his mother is a tempest in a cocktail shaker. And when the bride's ex-boyfriend shows up, the perfect wedding starts to unravel faster than you can whistle "Here Comes the Bride!"
The cast of It Shoulda Been You includes Tony Award-winner Tyne Daly, Tony Award-winner Harriet Harris, Sierra Boggess, Lisa Howard, David Burtka, Tony Award nominee Montego Glover, Chip Zien, Josh Grisetti, Adam Heller, Michael X. Martin, Anne L. Nathan, Nick Spangler, and Edward Hibbert, along with Farah Alvin, Gina Farrell, Aaron Finley, Mitch Greenberg, and Jillian Louis.
A musical in that antique vein would seem to be a nonstarter now...But it's not that bad...It helps that its ambition is modest: It's trying to amuse, not overwhelm. Brian Hargrove's book...is cleverly constructed, laying out its wedding plot according to musical-theater best practices...it's worth pointing out that neither plot twist is very credible, and the big one, however contemporary it may be in fact, already feels stale. Still, it has been set up well enough to produce a roar of laughter, and to carry the story swiftly to its unexpectedly touching conclusion. This is in part the result of David Hyde Pierce's understated direction, with its emphasis on comic timing and full commitment to stock characters...it's a nice surprise to find that the real star of the show is Lisa Howard...Howard...has the unusual ability of making likability and warmth, so often boring onstage, theatrical. She also sings beautifully, and gets most of the evening's best songs, which isn't saying much.
Viewing the 2011 tryout at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick (NJ), I found the humor mirthlessly forced...Thirty months later, I'm here to report that It Shoulda Been You is now considerably better than it was. This, thanks to a general upgrading of the cast (other than four central actors); slicker, fast-farce work from director David Hyde Pierce; and what seem to be many more jokes. Weaknesses still remain, led by the contrived story and a decidedly non-rousing score, but what was well-nigh intolerable in New Jersey is now... well, tolerable...Mr. Hyde Pierce's direction, as it turns out, helps keep the proceedings happily and dizzily airborne.
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