‘My Joy Is Heavy’ Musical Gets Weighed Down by the Bengson’s Heavygoing, Neo-Hippie Vibe

Imagine that “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” was reconceived for the stage, except with a different host, obviously, and a target audience of grownups who listen to a lot of NPR.That’s as good a starting point as any to describe “My Joy Is Heavy,” the mercifully short musical now on tap at New York Theatre Workshop. This is in no way intended as a slight to the late, great Fred Rogers, who never patronized his youthful audience, but surely understood that making the same fastidiously sensitive, relentlessly reaffirming appeals to their parents would have seemed condescending, or just weird. “Joy” is actually hosted, and was crafted, by a couple who have young children: Abigail and Shaun Bengson. As a creative and performing duo, The Bengsons have won accolades off-Broadway — they earned an Obie Award for Sustained Achievement in Performance two years ago — and outside New York; they also made their Broadway debut in 2024, in “All In: Comedy About Love,” singing tunes by Stephen Merritt, another cult darling among fans of indie and theatrical pop.Parenthood is a prominent subject in “Joy,” which was originally commissioned during the pandemic. So is loss. The Bengsons “believe grief and joy are the same thing,” their biography tells us, and this, in a nutshell, is the message of the show, which follows the pair as Abigail tries to become pregnant and through the not uncommon but nonetheless harrowing tragedy that follows.Only an ogre would lack empathy for the pain this couple has endured, or not admire their determination to transcend that suffering through art and, in doing so, provide catharsis for others. But unless it’s your thing, the neo-hippie vibe that permeates all 70 minutes of this one-act piece quickly grows tiresome, if not irritating. The Bengsons break the fourth wall the moment they enter, introducing their supporting musicians, who occasionally pop up in small roles. Plants representing various groups — people lost to Covid, babies born later — are handed out to audience members. “Will you take care of them?” a smiling Abigail asks. “Thank you.”She explains, “This is a relaxed house performance,” noting, “You can do whatever is good for your body and nervous system…If you have to get up and pee, we won’t be offended. I’m in pelvic floor therapy, and I’m peeing right now.” Even if part or all of that last sentence is a joke — the therapy part certainly jibes— oversharing is frequent in “Joy,” though predictably, both in its goofiest and its most sobering interludes, the Bengsons are scrupulously inoffensive. The project began as a video piece, and David Bengali’s playful design incorporates footage of the couple’s adorable older son, a toddler at the time, and Abigail’s mom, with whom they stayed during lockdown.“Hi Gramma Kathy!” Shaun pipes up when his mother-in-law is first shown. “I love this woman!” The musical presents Abigail’s husband as an agreeable male while reminding us, repeatedly, that he could never fully appreciate the physical and emotional toll of his wife’s efforts to conceive another child, which are documented in exhaustive and graphic detail.“I’m sooo sorry I’m not like a young maiden who’s just an easily conceiving perfectly lactating milky barwench for her babies,” Abigail barks at one of her lower points, before urinating on a stick.There is, to be fair, a certain self-aware humor in this lament, and in other exchanges. One musical number offers a parody of a wellness podcast, with drummer Ashley Baier intoning pearls of new-agey wisdom — “The individual is in complete control of his destiny,” for instance — while other band members chant. Abigail croons, “Here is the sound of a sounded body…Each joint rings with perfect pleasure.”Other songs, unfortunately, deliver a similar kind of unctuous earnestness without irony. Too often, The Bengsons’ melodies and lyrics suggest folky recitative, as if they had been improvised around a campfire and then only polished slightly back in their living room. Maybe that’s supposed to be part of the charm. “My Joy Is Heavy” concludes with the title number, which is catchy enough. “I couldn’t protect myself from grief. All I did was protect myself from joy,” Abigail confides before singing. It’s an undeniably poignant confession, given all that has transpired, but for me, at least, the hour and change preceding it were heavy going.

‘My Joy Is Heavy’ Musical Gets Weighed Down by the Bengson’s Heavygoing, Neo-Hippie Vibe

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