Review Roundup: Joy Behar's MY FIRST EX-HUSBAND Off-Broadway

The world premiere of MY FIRST EX-HUSBAND, a new show by Joy Behar, directed by Randal Myler, is now officially open Off-Broadway at MMAC Theater.

Through February 23, Behar herself will lead the first cast of comedic legends, including Susie Essman, Tovah Feldshuh, and Adrienne C. Moore.

From February 26 to March 23, the second cast will feature award-winning comedienne Judy Gold, Emmy Award winner Susan Lucci, Cathy Moriarty and Tony Award winner Tonya Pinkins.

OBIE winner Veanne Cox, *Gina Gershon; Emmy nominee Jackie Hoffman, and Andrea Navedo. They will perform from March 26 to April 20. * Gina Gershon will only be performing April 2-20. 

MY FIRST EX-HUSBAND is a hilarious, no-holds-barred series of stories created by the legendary Joy Behar. With razor-sharp wit and zero filters, Joy dives into the messy truths of love, marriage, and divorce, revealing the chaotic, funny, and often eye-opening realities of relationships. These stories are as relatable as they are outrageous, offering something for anyone who’s ever tied the knot—or thought about untying it. See what the critics are saying...

Melissa Rose Bernardo, New York Stage Review: Behar has generously given her costars the best material. Her monologues aren’t as engaging; rather, they’re more like stand-up routines. In fact, the second—about a middle-aged woman contemplating divorce in order to escape the constant demands of her “hot to trot” hubby—is pretty much joke after joke after joke. It’s in her wheelhouse, but there’s only so much you can hear about shtupping and pumping and spritzing.

Elysa Gardner, NY Sun: Ms. Behar’s latest venture, fortunately, finds the veteran comedian a little less out of her depth. Titled “My First Ex-Husband,” it consists of eight monologues she crafted after interviewing a diverse group of divorcées. The roughly 90-minute production, directed by Randal Myler, is set to feature a rotating lineup of stars; the first casts Ms. Behar alongside a fellow funny lady, Susie Essman, of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” fame; an “Orange is the New Black” alumna, Adrienne C. Moore; and a stage and screen veteran, Tovah Feldshuh.

Thom Geier, Culture Sauce: The initial cast of performers, all sleekly dressed in black, acquit themselves just fine, though many were still flipping through the pages of the binder while occasionally injecting vocal flourishes for emphasis or character development. My Ex-Husband is the sort of show for women who’d just as soon dress up for a night out and skip the theater, instead plopping themselves in a noisy cafe to eavesdrop on the juicy stories of nearby patrons spilling all the dirt about their lives. If you have an appetite for tea, this brew may be just strong enough to sustain you for 90 minutes. Randal Myler directs.

Tulis McCall, The Front Row Center: With the exception of Tovah Feldshuh’s “Wigged Out” and to a lesser extent Behar’s “The Touch” the monologues were litanies of boorish and sometimes dangerous behavior with which these women put up. Until they didn’t or until they gave up. If these were stand-up routines each would have lasted a few minutes. As it is, the writing wanders from pillar to post until we lose the thread.

Average Rating: 50.0%