It is easy to see why Josh Thomas is a star in his native Australia – he is charming, relatable, smart and very, very funny. His timing is razor sharp, as would be expected of an artist performing standup since he was seventeen. This, combined with his deep understanding of being neuro-diverse in a world that all too often rigidly enforces conformity, makes Let’s Tidy Up, his latest solo show, a riveting experience that stays with you long after the “curtain has come down.”
Co-created with playwright Lally Katz, the show covers a lot of ground. Love lost and found, life and death, friendship, dog ownership and gopher extermination are all explored while Josh attempts to tidy up the chaotic paper-strewn set. It’s no spoiler to say that nothing on stage ever gets any neater. The chaos explores the often-messy ways Josh interacts with the larger world.
His stories are rarely straightforward and that is part of their charm. Through these digressions, we come to understand Josh’s interior world. We are drawn in as we experience his unfiltered and occasionally off-kilter reactions to the events of his life. While there is much hysterical laughter along the way, there is also recognition of the ways in which we all wish we could be so free as to tell our own stories.
As might be expected from one who created two award-winning television shows, the evening’s pacing is sublime. Josh knows how to sweep an audience along and leave us wanting more. We come away with the understanding that life is not something to be sanitized and “tidied up” but to be lived fully and joyfully.
"Let’s Tidy Up"
Performed by Josh Thomas
Written by Josh Thomas and Lally Katz
June 12- 29, 2024
SoHo House Playhouse (15 Vandam St. NYC)
Wendy Lane Bailey has a powerful classic pop voice and a rather cavalier attitude towards the idea of genre. Wendy-Lane’s debut solo recording, Breathing, was produced by composer/arranger/pianist Michele Brourman. Her performances in venues across the country have earned critical praise for versatility and sophistication. She has appeared as a guest artist on multiple recordings, including Leslie Gore’s and Susan Egan’s. She studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, HB Studios and the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center. Off-stage Wendy Lane is a creative advocate for artists. While living in Washington, D.C., she founded a regional networking organization for musicians and for five years, was the Associate Director of the Cabaret Conference at Yale University. She received a 2007 Bistro Award for outstanding achievement and was nominated for a Washington Area Music Association Award. While serving on the board of NJ’s Pioneer productions, she produced, directed, and appeared in several theatre pieces. She is currently developing Hot Coffee, MS, a solo theatre piece with music in collaboration with Michele Brourman & Gretchen Cryer. In 2020, she accepted the position of Assistant Artistic Director of the United Solo Theatre Festival. In addition to her performing work, she teaches and consults privately and in master classes for singers of all genres.
Comments