We've Been Here Before

The Lowdown

Here's a one-woman musical with a serious secret weapon in the band: Ben Folds. Lindsey Kraft wrote, created, and stars in We've Been Here Before, and Folds, yes, that Ben Folds, produces, music-directs, and plays right there on stage alongside musician Dan Rudin.

The story follows Liv, a 40-year-old who wakes up one day with the sudden, inconvenient urge to write music, despite never having touched a piano. She teaches herself anyway, strikes up a relationship with a mysterious online pen pal, and starts pulling at family threads she'd rather leave alone: her father's addiction, a lifetime of silence, and the songs she's been too scared to sing.

It's funny, it's raw, and it's headed for a two-week run at SoHo Playhouse before, the team hopes, a much bigger stage. Fourteen performances, one piano, and a Grammy-orbit songwriter in the band. If you like your musicals small, honest, and a little bit dangerous, get in early. August 4 through 17, and a room this size sells out fast.