BALLAD OF A MAN
Mike (Kevin Friend) is a real estate salesman specializing in pyramid schemes, a scam artist whose rapid decline begins when his wife Virginia (Elaine Dame) surprises him in bed with his sales assistant Lisa (Tamara Fuhrman). Virginia accuses him of a lack of “self-awareness” and kicks him out, after which a very alienated Mike, a taker not a giver, dumps Lisa.
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Yet there’s much heart in this eager musical, the songs are winning and splendidly sold, and even the occasional homegrown awkwardness seems dictated by honesty and integrity. For all its lack of focus, this play could win you over by sheer sincerity. True, Ballad won’t solve homelessness, but it reminds us of the difference individuals can make. Whether expressed by Kovin or Charles Dickens, that’s always an appropriate holiday message.
