Josh Kornbluth’s New York performances of his West Coast hit, LOVE & TAXES arrived in the east just in time to greet back-to-back snowstorms. Yet, the audience came, and laughed, and laughed some more at the December 6 performance I attended.
"LOVE and TAXES?," You may inquire. Yes, precisely. Love, taxes, life and everything in between, this inspired work is an autobiographical one-man show, you see, and where else but in real life can subjects like love and taxes flow together naturally? Specifically, Mr. Kornbluth recounts his Communist-New York upbringing, the often heard warnings to beware of "The Man" and the role that these early lessons may have played in his decision to stop filing taxes for seven years. He then moves on to his life as a responsible taxpaying citizen, the horrifying ramifications of choosing the wrong tax attorney as an advisor, the struggle for success, and finding true love.
Though I could not make the natural connection, as Mr. Kornbluth does in real life, and as part of LOVE & TAXES, from man in daily compounding debt to proud citizen advocating adherence to tax laws, I saw the seams as he sewed them onstage.
While both love and taxes are universal themes here in these United States, it is Josh Kornbluth’s particular insights and relaxed manner that make LOVE & TAXES a viable theatrical venture. Sure, this is one man’s tale, but there are so many elements to relate to that the individual voice speaks for the masses, and within moments there is an unlikely camaraderie. Whatever the intangibles of the IRS code and the fickle soul of love, they come together in both comic and realist splendor here.
I found LOVE & TAXES to be an unlikely but refreshing delight. I did feel a special connection to performer Kornbluth when he mentioned that he attended the Bronx High School of Science, my alma mater, and felt even more at home as I easily related to every mention of form 1040, Schedule C, sole proprietorship and itemized deductions. Could it be that Josh Kornbluth’s ebullient tax talk is contagious? Perhaps!
- Kessa De Santis -