Meet ‘The Kid’ you can love

New musical regards a gay couple adopting a baby

BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

OFF BROADWAY REVIEW

Should the idea of gay men adopting a child bother you greatly, then "The Kid" is not a show for you.

For everybody else, the new musical that premiered Monday at Theatre Row is likely to be a bundle of joy. Smart writing, a genuinely tuneful score and a good deal of sincere feeling makes this bright show easy to love.

An intimately-scaled musical drawn from sex advice columnist Dan Savage's memoir, "The Kid" regards Dan and Terry, a couple who experience the highs and lows of adopting a baby.

The first part amusingly — even hilariously — regards the twosome's gay-tinged apprehensions and personal doubts as they navigate through the adoptive preliminaries. The latter section of the musical still involves considerable humor but gets into tender emotions as Dan and Terry try to cope with the prospective birth mom, a troubled runaway teen who may change her mind.

During the process, Dan expresses his worry about not being able to bond with the infant when he finally arrives — if they can keep him.

For all of the jazzy, contemporary appeal of Andy Monroe's varied music and the clever, conversational ways of Jack Lechner's lyrics, their deceptively breezy score admirably conveys dramatic and emotional points as needed. Michael Zam's swift, fluent and occasionally bawdy script frees the characters to speak directly to the audience. The tone of this buoyant, unpretentious show is often light and comical but the heartfelt moments are honestly realized without getting icky about it.

Despite some understandably cartoonish strokes, the authors provide a surprisingly authentic, non-glitz depiction of typical middle-class (and middle-aged) gay living. Dan's journalism beat is a tad kinky, true, but Terry is a part-timer in a bookstore. They reside modestly in the ‘burbs. A rare visit to a dance club with friends now tuckers Dan out. As a couple they spat about minor things but when times get tough these guys hang on to each other.

A loveable lug with a gut and an affable smile — think Brendan Fraser with a twist — Christopher Sieber engagingly portrays Dan as a sensible fellow who sometimes gets stressed. Lucas Steele lends his more volatile Terry a compassionate nature that comes to the fore during the serious scenes. Their casual give and take physicality as partners is very believable.

Jeannine Frumess plays the troubled teen mom quietly but poignantly. With only a few passing scenes and one lovely song, Jill Eikenberry firmly establishes Dan's mother as a clear-eyed soul. A low-keyed Susan Blackwell gives a social worker a poker face and a sympathetic spirit. Last seen in "[title of show]," Blackwell also capably depicts several incidental figures, as does such proficient players as Ann Harada ("Avenue Q"), Tyler Maynard ("Altar Boys") and Brooke Sunny Moriber ("The Wild Party").

The New Group rarely presents music-theater works but there's no lack of expertise to the sensitive, well-paced production director Scott Elliott bestows on "The Kid." Aided by Howell Binkley's colorful lighting, Derek McLane's clean-cut set design employs pastel projections and video bits to create many locations. Josh Prince's musical staging is nimble and at times witty, as in a sequence at a disco when everybody gets entangled with the velvet rope. A six-member orchestra gives the music a frisky edge.

After a season littered with mostly dud tuners, it's a treat to enjoy a new musical like "The Kid," which deals so truly with a modern-day topic from an adult viewpoint and a warm-hearted sense of humor.

"The Kid" continues through May 29 at Theatre Row, 410 W. 42nd St., New York. Call (212) 279-4200 or visit www.thenewgroup.org.