"Solo performer Ben Rimalower exorcises his financial demons in this one-man show, a purgative hour-long monologue in which he entertainingly (and excruciatingly) itemizes his monetary sins...Rimalower is light, funny and unabashed...'You’re not supposed to talk about money,' he says...Rimalower’s choice to do just that is a brave one, and—in a time when many people suffer in silence under crushing debt or find themselves unable to live within their means—a vital one."
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"He seems to lack the emotional distance from his story to tell it with self-reflective humor rather than merely candor...It's not hard to see how 'Bad With Money' may be helping Rimalower come to terms with his troubled past. The theater does indeed have the power to heal, but that should include the audience too."
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"There was nothing moving in the evening. I was not convinced that any real change had taken place. It seemed like an indulgent detached 'drunkalogue' more appropriate in a meeting room than a theater...Nevertheless he received healthy applause at the end of the show. I wasn’t sure whether people in the audience knew him (there was some indication of that) or whether they were just enabling him."
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"While Rimalower again brings wit and humor to the story, the tone here is a bit more shaded and muted. 'Bad with Money' isn’t as quite as breathlessly entertaining as 'Patti Issues'. Neither does it have any particularly deep insights into the consumer culture. This isn’t a huge problem, and in a way makes for a more truthfully ambivalent story. It testifies to Rimalower’s skill as both writer and performer that very nearly every moment is crystal clear. Recommended."
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"For 70 minutes, Ben charmingly but unflinchingly recalls every poor financial decision he's ever made...He manages to expose the ridiculousness of his sickness along with the self-destructiveness, and makes the audience feel okay hearing every detail...While the show documents an emotional journey, there is no closure. But there seldom is in life either, making 'Bad With Money' a good investment."
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"What makes this a powerful piece of theatre is the fact that Rimalower exposes his inner demons right in front of us...with grace, humor, and humility...You get the sense that he hopes leaving himself emotionally bare under the glaring and harsh lights of the Duplex stage might expose his demons in a way that won't let them take control of his life again. But as he does so, we are also left with hope that we might ourselves be that brave and able to work through our own failures and things that plague us."
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