My First Ex-Husband

Tweet

Joy Behar and a rotating cast of female celebrities find humor in divorce in My First Ex-Husband, a new show at the MMAC Theater.  Directed by Randal Myler, the evening chronicles tales of failed relationships through a series of hilarious monologues. The cast of four trade off, each delivering two vignettes about men who turned out not to be “the one.” My First Ex-Husband is witty, quick and ceaselessly funny.

Behar, the show’s playwright, boasts an impressive resumé both in theater and other areas. Best known as a longtime co-host of ABC’s The View, she’s helmed talk shows and radio shows, and has acted on both screen and stage. She participated in productions such as The Vagina Monologues and The Food Chain, and has written several plays herself: the one-woman show Me, My Mouth, and I (Cherry Lane Theater), Bonkers in the Boroughs, and Crisis in Queens. Her latest work, My First Ex-Husband, begins with an explanation of the show’s premise: The divorce rate in the United States is continually rising. To get to the bottom of why, she asked a series of women why they got divorced (Behar jokes that she asked the men but they were unhelpful – “they all said ‘oh, because she was crazy’”). The stories are delivered as monologues, with several celebrities recruited for the task.

In addition to Behar, the opening cast consists of Susie Essman (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Law and Order SVU, Hacks), Tovah Feldshuh (Funny Girl, Yentl, Golda’s Balcony), and Adrienne C. Moore (Black Odyssey, For Colored Girls…, The Taming of the Shrew). All four have strong comedy experience, and all exercise their skills through the monologues they’re given.

Pushy and controlling men are a major theme of the work. Men who nag their wives (usually about their appearance) resurface repeatedly, albeit in unique ways – some rely on offhand comments, some on more subtle manipulation, and some on direct put-downs. Behar’s writing and each cast member’s delivery succeed in skewering all of them.

Feeling trapped is an idea that resurfaces again and again – in a loveless relationship, an over-loving relationship, a cabin in the woods, even a cloistered religious community. “Walla Walla Bang Bang” is one such story – Essman lends a neurotic delivery to the tale of being captive to a husband’s escalating obsession with the wilderness.

“The Widower” is a similar story. It’s one of the more difficult monologues, but Feldshuh handles it flawlessly. It starts off in a rather jarring fashion and delves into some dark territory, but she finds some great laughs in its unique premise. Her delivery has just the right amount of sarcastic for it.

Both sides of infidelity are explored across several vignettes. Regardless of which partner cheats, it usually ends the relationship – occasionally with a grand act of revenge on account of the wronged party. Moore gives a particularly strong delivery of one such monologue that slowly builds into a great payoff at the end. The segment highlights her comedic talents, with Moore doing unique voices for several side characters.

Behar saves the finale for herself. “Get Off of Me” sees the narrator struggle with her overly-frisky husband in increasingly absurd ways, lamenting how she can’t even complain to her friends because they’d be jealous. It’s a great note to end the show on – the fairly lighthearted vignette has one of the most memorable line deliveries in the show, and wraps everything up thematically quite well.

Overall, My First Ex-Husband is a great premise well-executed. The writing is sharp and the cast all put their unique personalities into each monologue.

My First Ex-Husband (through April 20, 2025 with rotating celebrity casts changing every four weeks)

MMAC Theater, 248 W. 60th St, Manhattan

For tickets, visit: http://www.MyFirstExHusband.com

Running time: 90 minutes without intermission