John Wascavage and Jeremiah Michael Ginn Photo by Meredith Longo

Jeremiah Michael Ginn and John Wascavage are the writer/performers who bring the musical to life and they prove to be pretty hysterical company. Gutenberg! The Musical was originally presented Off-Broadway in 2006 before it had a Broadway run in 2023 with the high-powered Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad. Since it features just two actors, this show turns out to be ideal fare for an intimate theater like the one at Playhouse on Park. Gutenberg! The Musical! won't suit everyone's taste, but, if you are willing to go along with the craziness, it provides definite pleasures.

On the small scale set, designed by Arthur Wilson (who is also the able costume designer), the would-be musical theatre writers are Bud Davenport (Jeremiah Michael Ginn) and Doug Simon (John Wascavage), and they address the audience directly, saying that they have spent all the money they had to put on the presentation of Gutenberg! The Musical!. So, essentially, this show is a musical within a musical and, thanks to the masterful comic abilities of the two actors and the canny and finely tuned direction by Sasha Bratt, it does offer a lot of fun.

The plot focuses on Johannes Gutenberg inventing the printing press in 1440, but that is just a jumping off point for the two-hour show (with intermission). It is immediately stated that, though there are just two people presenting the musical, the cast is hopefully going to be huge, should it go to Broadway. Instead of costume changes, there are a series of yellow baseball caps with the different characters' names on them and the performers are constantly changing hats as befits the plot of their show. The score by Anthony King and Scott Brown is quite good and the two actors have a grand time putting over the songs.

John Wascavage essentially plays Gutenberg throughout, with Jeremiah Michael Ginn portraying his enemy, the "evil" monk. Musical highlights include Wascavage singing the happy "The Press Song" and Ginn countering with the peppy "Stop the Press." The press in question is Gutenberg's printing press, though Gutenberg! The Musical! goes off in so many different directions that the plot becomes essentially about anything and everything.

One of the very funny characters in the show is Helvetica, who is illiterate and pines for Gutenberg to notice her. Helvetica's big song is the riotous "(Might As Well) Go to Hell," though all of the numbers are pretty engaging. These include the hilarious duet "Monk With Me" (complete with a big, Wicked-inspired finale) and the inventive "Words, Words, Words," which, thanks to all those baseball caps, somehow becomes a big, full company "chorus line" anthem.

There isn't very much of a plot in Gutenberg! The Musical! and that may put off audience members looking for a stronger story. But Sasha Bratt's direction is very good, and there is also expressive lighting design by Kyle Stamm, and Miles Messier is a wizard of a music director and piano player, keeping the show rolling along.

What really makes this musical work is the delightful partnership of Ginn and Wascavage, who are very humorous raconteurs and carry the show seemingly effortlessly. The final number is the audience participation song, "We Eat Dreams," and the audience I saw the show with certainly took to it, singing along. Gutenberg! The Musical! at Playhouse on Park is a sort of a mini confectionary of a show and I will confess that it had me smiling from beginning to end.

Gutenberg! The Musical! runs through February 8, 2026, at Playhouse on Park, 244 Park Rd, West Hartford CT. For tickets and information, please visit www.playhouseonpark.org.