MIXED - Sessions

At the Algonquin Theatre on E. 24th Street, you can see an engaging little musical that centers around Dr. Peter Peterson, a New York therapist who learns that he is as much in need of therapy as his patients. The play concerns a therapy group that include a comically bickering couple, the Murphys, the lonely young man who for 15 years has obsessively loved a woman from afar, an abused wife, the real estate tycoon who is unhappy despite his wealth, a brash young woman named sunshine, and a singer who believes himself to be Bob Dylan. And then there is Leila, the seductress who is intent on seducing her therapist, Dr. Peterson. Book, music, and lyrics are by Al Tapper. This musical premiered off-off-Broadway in 2007.
Somewhere between a light musical revue and a full-blown musical, Sessions has an engaging cast, and I genuinely enjoyed many of the musical numbers. However, the plot seemed thin and its psychological insights a bit too pat.
-- ELLEN