Dada Woof Papa Hot

My biggest regret is that I didn't see The Normal Heart back in 2012. Seriously. Missing that production is the one move I've made that I will regret for the rest of my life. So when I saw John Benjamin Hickey's name attached to Dada Woof Papa Hot obviously I bought a ticket. I missed him once, I wasn't going to miss him again.

Dada Woof Paper Hot illustrates what is seemingly the new normal onstage these days -- an affluent New York City gay couple with a couple of kids fighting over issues of fidelity and navigating the waters of middle age. These are themes most everyone can relate to. I was surprised how close to home the story hit for me, my being a by-product of a marriage that stayed together for the kids.

The story followed three couples, all married with kids, navigating the waters of staying faithful to their spouses while having their attention divided among work, family, and extramarital affairs. Pretty standard plot really.

I was most surprised by the set, as there seemed to be a constant stream of new locations from one scene to the next. Entire rooms moved in and out of the playing space, each one showing a different glimpse into the world of the main couple, Rob and Alan.

The one element of the show that really irked me was the use of a recorded voice for Rob and Alan's daughter. She called out during a dinner party from her bedroom, and her voice was so obviously coming from the speakers on either side of the stage that I almost wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness. There was no need for her voice to be heard at all -- or if it was really that necessary it should've been a live voice.

Simply put, John Benjamin Hickey was superb. Patrick Breen, playing Hickey's husband, was great and they were well cast together. I really really really disliked Alex Hurt as Jason, but it wasn't Mr. Hurt as an actor that I didn't like, it was the way he played the character of Jason. Jason was just a hateful (that might be too strong of a word) character to begin with, and his mannerisms and flippant tone frustrated me to no end. But each character had some redeeming quality, and those qualities centered around their love for the children. No matter how much trouble Alan (Hickey) had with the daughter, it was clear he just needed guidance on how to handle her and he was scared of how much he loved her.

Overall, Dada Woof Papa Hot was a heart-warming, enjoyable, family drama worth the $34.00 I payed for the ticket.