Having just spent three evening seeing new Off-Broadway musicals , I'm delighted to note how much original work is being created and shown. Not a jukebox musical in the lot. Not a recycled, re-hashed idea that you can fault for sitcom-ish or purposeless plots.

The ingenuity with which Katchor's cartoon world was projected onto movable scrim panels is nothing short of brilliant. In the final analysis, despite Simon's valid and persuasive praise for plot and characters as well as the incredibly inventive scenic design, I found that the scenery really did steal the show and I'll probably retain more vivid memories of the colorful images than any of these characters. Also, while a lot of lyricists tend to stretch single syllable words into two syllable words, I found this to be so overdone here that it severely tested my tolerance for what Simon referred to as "the tenacity of the recitative."

While my nitpicks are minor in the face of Simon's well supported thumbs up review, the use of unsightly headmikes in a small theater like the Vineyard is a major deficit, and an affront to Mr. Katchor's beautiful visual work. How is it that it's become impossible to let performers make use of their natural vocal powers even in intimate venues like this and in musicals with small bands? Even if amplification IS needed, I've seen less visible and more subtle devices used with less objectionable sight and sound effects. Perhaps Dr. Rushower can make it his next cause to replace the the mikes strapped to his and his friends heads with less visible and less soundspoiling "slugs"