Theatre in Review: All In: Comedy About Love (Hudson Theatre)

	John Mulaney. Photo: Emilio Madrid.

One way of understanding this quizzical, oddly titled, evening is to note that Simon Rich, its author, is identified in his program bio as "a Thurber Prize-winning humorist." This is telling, because All In: Comedy About Love -- an indefinite article has apparently gone missing -- harks back to 1960's A Thurber Carnival. A modest hit, rarely seen these days, it is a revue composed of Thurber's greatest hits, most of them New Yorker casuals, punctuated by occasional jazz interludes. All In is composed of Rich's greatest hits, most of them New Yorker casuals, punctuated with musical numbers written by Stephin Merritt and performed by the The Bengsons. What goes around comes around, if you wait long enough.

One major difference between these efforts: A Thurber Carnival was fully staged, with such classics as "The Night the Bed Fell," "The Unicorn in the Garden," and "If Grant Had Been Drinking at Appomattox" delivered from memory. At the Hudson Theatre, the format is reader's theatre, featuring a rotating cast of four well-known comic actors. Such an approach would seem more suitable to not-for-profit Off-Broadway in its current state of penury; in this booming season for Broadway, even dressed up with a talk show-style set by David Korins, richly colored lighting by Jake DeGroot, and amusing projections by Lucy Mackinnon drawing on illustrations by the New Yorker cartoonist Emily Flake, All In can seem a little basic.

Well, maybe less so if you're a fan of Rich's whimsical pieces. Also, you can have your selection of stars: The original cast included John Mulaney (Rich's former Saturday Night Live colleague), Fred Armisen, Renee Elise Goldsberry, and Richard Kind. The coming weeks will see appearances by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Annaleigh Ashford, Hank Azaria, Jimmy Fallon, Nick Kroll, and Andrew Rannells, among others. Even with such glittering appointments and popular performers, however, this is the most fancied-up Barnes & Noble reading you've ever attended.

To be sure, Rich delivers his share of laughs. The evening begins with an explosively funny shaggy-dog story involving a bartender, a random customer, a 12"-tall pianist, and a hard-of-hearing genie. (Mulaney is peerless in his dogged pursuit of this saga's ultimate punchline, no matter how many blind alleys he encounters.) The tastiest piece focuses on Joseph Merrick, aka The Elephant Man, whose pitying doctor, Frederick Treves, dispatches Mrs. Treves to relieve his patient's loneliness. In the event, Merrick is a real operator with women, leaving the well-intentioned physician apoplectic with jealousy. Equally delectable is the tale of Albie, an elderly no-account talent agent, who, visited by Death, delays the inevitable by signing that grave personage to a long-term contract. Assessing his career prospects, the latter wonders, "Should I change my name? Is 'Death' too Jewish?"

Other offerings, however, wander far and wide in search of a satisfying wrap-up. An extended sketch about two pirates who adopt a foundling skirts sentimentality while relying on repeated invocations of "Aar" for its laughs. A Raymond Chandler-inspired caper, populated with toddlers, drags on at length -- although, at the performance I attended, Goldsberry was priceless as a femme fatale of the under-two set. A voyage into science fiction, framed around a school essay penned in 2074 by Rich's putative great-grandchild, is pretty obvious stuff.

In any case, one suspects that the stars are the real draw. Among Mulaney, Armisen, and Kind, who are with the production through January 12, the latter provides the most memorable screwball moments, as an amorous pooch composing a personal ad ("I saw you out the window of my owner's car, during a traffic jam. We barked at each other for a while. I thought you made some interesting points") and as Treves, furiously twisting himself into fearsome pretzel shapes as his wife flirts shamelessly with Merrick. It's too bad he is departing so soon.

Everything else about Alex Timbers' production exudes slick professionalism, including the attractive songs, Jennifer Moeller's solid costumes, and Peter Hylenski's natural sound design. In its best moments, All in exudes a casual charm not associated with today's high-pressure Broadway scene; still, its pleasures are exceedingly slender. As an interim booking designed to keep the Hudson open between the recently closed revival of Once Upon a Mattress and its next tenant, The Last Five Years (which begins previews in March), it just about fills the bill. Choose your stars wisely, don't expect too much, and you'll have a reasonably good time. But something tells me James Thurber got the better showcase. --David Barbour