My First Ex-Husband.

"My First Ex-Husband" at MMAC Theater is four actors/comedians reading about eight stories of nameless woman that writer Joy Behar interviewed for her pithy play. Behar, Susie Essman, Tovah Feldshuh and Adrienne C. Moore each read two stories from different women explaining their hopeless marriages.

While the laughs are not always front and center, each and every story is interesting; the ninety minutes flies by as the woman banter about real life happenings. At times the stories seem unbelievable, at other times, married, or divorced, the audience can agree on the pitfalls of being married.

In "Serena and Jessica", Susie Essman reads both "The Clothes Make the Man? " and "Walla Walla Bang Bang" Both of her stories were probably two of the funniest of the evening. In "Walla Walla", she tells the story of an unhappy marriage that has her having an affair with an Indian Man. In "The Clothes", she is married to a man who likes to dress up like a woman. The strange and funny part about this is how the wife accepts this and pretends like nothing is wrong... it is more like a person accepting this odd behavior so as to not rock the boat.

While Essman was strong, Joy Behar was probably the strongest of all the readers. Both New York City wise, and having a deft dramatic/comedic pause, Behar had Monica and Gloria in "The Touch" and "Get Off of Me" as zany and Marx like characters. Monica falls in love with a failed racketeer and falls into the arms of another woman. Behar, a Brooklyn native, tells the story of a Staten Island woman who never really believes that this is the right man for her. Ignoring her mother's pleas, she marries him anyway.

In "Get Off of Me', Behar tells the audience about a woman who can no longer stand having sex with her husband every night well into his 70's. At one point, she suggests that her pharmacist husband take a lover. Joy Behar was able to bring her characters front and center better than the other three comedians.

As June and Rebecca Tovah Feldshuh was better in "Wigged Out" than in "The Widow". In "Wigged", Feldshuh was more effective telling the story of a Sectarian Jewish woman who was forced to accept the arranged marriage and the rigorous lifestyle. "The Widow" was perhaps the weakest of all the stories. It did have some funny moments, however.

In Lala and Karen, I thought that Adrienne C. Moore was the weakest of the four; she wasn't warm, nor comfortable in her readings. While "The Drummer's Wife" was amusing, "Where Are You At?" was at best, weak. I think "Where Are You" could have been a lot funnier if read by another actor. Moore was too monotone in her reading, too lifeless in the monologue.

It is worth the trip to MMAC to see this show. While politics aside, I thought Joy Behar wrote a good show. Behar herself was warm and engaging in her readings and not at all like her persona on "The View".

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Next up, "Blood Wedding. It is an off off Broadway show that looks to have promise. Last season had some great off and off Broadway productions. At The Guggenheim, Works and Process put on many great shows last season and this season looks even stronger! The San Francisco Opera is coming into The Guggenheim this month.

Some big names are also coming to off Broadway this season. Both the Signature and Theater Row have promising shows; so does The Shed and 59East59.

New York City, Joy Behar, off Broadway, Alladin, The Lion King, Geworge Clooney, Sunset BLVD, Gypsy, Hamilton.