[NEohioPAL] Review of "If/Then" national tour at Playhouse Square

[Bob Abelman via NEohioPAL]

There’s much to love in touring ‘If/Then,’ but not enough



Bob Abelman

Cleveland Jewish News, The News Herald, The Morning Journal

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics

The 2014 Broadway musical “If/Then,” now on tour and on stage at Playhouse Square, revolves around newly divorced 38-year-old Elizabeth, an urban planner living in Phoenix who moves to New York City for a fresh start.

The play opens with Elizabeth (Jackie Burns) meeting up with new friends Kate (Tamyra Gray) and her girlfriend Anne (Janine DiVita), who insist that she go by the free-wheeling "Liz" as a sign of her new attitude and openness to new experiences.

She also runs into her old boyfriend Lucas (Anthony Rapp), a social activist, who recalls her drive and passion and suggests that she go back to her no-nonsense college nickname, "Beth," and start making professional connections in the city.

When she meets the thoroughly likable Josh (Matthew Hydzik), Elizabeth has an important life-altering decision to make: carouse as Liz or build a career as Beth.  Not an easy choice for a woman who has a tendency to make all the wrong choices and then second-guess herself by wondering “what if?”

There is much to love in this musical.  But you will surely find yourself second-guessing some of its production choices and, like Elizabeth, wondering “what if” throughout its performance.

For more of this article, go to www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/.  
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