Theater Thursday - John & Jen

What: John & Jen

Where: Home Streaming from Short North Stage

Who: Teens and Up

When: Through Sunday,  July 12, 2020

Me - John & Jen was a pretty good show. It wasn't my favorite but I liked it. Generally, I am not really a fan of two-person shows.  They tend to get draggy after a while. I also don't tend to enjoy shows that are mostly all singing. I usually prefer shows with more of a spoken plot. The music in the show was good though. I don't really remember the songs, but I know there were some I wouldn't mind listening to again. The show was well-acted.  The performers did a nice job playing the same characters at various ages. Their singing voices were nice. Overall, I enjoyed the performance. 

Mom - John & Jen is a two-person show about a woman named Jen and the two Johns in her life; her brother and her son. In the first act, Jen shares a close relationship with her younger brother as they are bonded by their difficult childhood growing up with an abusive Dad. Eventually, they grow apart as they are on opposite sides of the Vietnam War. The second act is about Jen, who has become a helicopter parent to the son she named for her brother while her son just wants the opportunity to grow and be his own person. The story takes place over a period of almost fifty years and is told almost completely through song. The songs are nice and meaningful. The performers, especially Hunter Minor in the roles of the two Johns,  do a great job playing the same characters over a number of years. The staging is very bare which keeps the focus on the actors while the costume changes help set the various time periods. All in all, watching this show is not a bad way to spend an evening at home.

And that's our view.  For more about John & Jen or to purchase the show for streaming visit www.shortnorthstage.org/johnjen.

Tune in Sunday for this week's Sunday Scoop.