NPR Weekend Edition: If Your Name Is Josh Cohen, You Probably Think ‘The Other Josh Cohen’ Is About You

The Other Josh Cohen is a rock-musical rom-com running off-Broadway. It’s about Josh Cohen, a loveable schlub who’s unlucky in love.

A group of guys from around the country all named Josh Cohen recently got together to watch a matinee of The Other Josh Cohen in New York City.

The musical speaks to a lot of people, but perhaps these guys more than others.

There’s Josh Cohen from Mahopac, N.Y.; Joshua A. Cohen from Las Vegas; Joshua C. Cohen from Los Angeles; Josh N. Cohen from Brooklyn; and Joshua H. Cohen from Manhattan.

All of the guys connected on Facebook after Joshua A. Cohen couldn’t find his own profile one day because of all the other Josh Cohens out there. It’s basically the John Smith of Judaism. To coordinate, he created a Facebook group: The Josh Cohen Club.

“We’re trying to form humanity’s first super Josh Cohen,” Joshua A. Cohen jokes.

Most of the Joshes were tickled to learn about a hit show that shares their name. Except Joshua H. Cohen — he was a little suspicious when he first heard about the show.

“There are certain rhymes between the story of the show and my actual life,” Joshua H. Cohen says.

Joshua H. Cohen is a talented writer. So is the one in the play. They both went to New York University. They both have a great-grandfather named Samuel, who gets a song in the play. And there’s more.

“The Josh Cohen in the musical winds up with — after a long drought of dating — a music teacher named Diane. My wife, who I met after a long dating drought, is a music teacher named Anne,” Joshua H. Cohen says.