Last evening, I attended opening night of the Reprise! production of They're Playing Our Song up at the Freud Playhouse at U.C.L.A. As you may know, Reprise! does these short-run, hastily-rehearsed productions that only run for two weeks. They chose to open this season with the popular musical that features a book by Neil Simon, lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager and music by Marvin Hamlisch. Lucie Arnaz and Robert Klein first starred in the show on Broadway in 1979 and it ran through many cast changes for a whopping 1,082 performances. Which is remarkable because it really isn't a very good play.
I've seen it several times, including the pre-Broadway tryout in L.A. with Klein and Arnaz. (It may interest folks who know the show that when I saw the tryout, the character of Leon died near the end. By the time tryouts ended, that had been changed and he lived happily ever after.) There are moments that are great and some songs that are fun but I don't think the contribution of Neil Simon is up to the standard of…well, the standard of Neil Simon. There's a lot of funny banter but the show doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Here's a recounting of the plot, ridiculously slanted to make it sound silly…
Great male composer of music meets great female author of lyrics. They get on each others' nerves and he complains mightily about her all through the first two scenes. In the third, they have a brief moment of common bonding and in no time at all have fallen in love and are agreeing to sleep together that night. Before long, they move in together. There are apparently some problems with them trying to be mates and business partners at the same time but those are never explained. The big issue between them becomes that she keeps taking phone calls or rushing off in the middle of the night to help out her former boy friend who's fallen on hard times. Composer and lyricist break up over this. They start seeing other people. They get back together. Everybody sings.
That's slanted to make it sound silly but it's not slanted that much. I am aware that True Love sometimes occurs in real life because Person A looks at Person B and they inexplicably bond…but this is a play, not real life. I don't get why they mate. I also don't get why they get back together and why, in the version I saw last night, it seemed to work like this: Throughout the play, the lady had been the crazy person in this relationship and the guy had been the saner (somewhat) one, getting understandably ticked off at her craziness. And then at the end, they reunite when the guy apologizes for being insane and promises he'll change. I found myself wondering if the actors had memorized the wrong parts for that scene.
What I did figure out is the reason They're Playing Our Song has been so successful in spite of all this. It's a small musical — cast of eight and the two leads carry 90% of it…so it attracts great and talented stars. Great and talented stars can often make weak material work. For instance, as Jason Alexander did last night, they can take lyrics that don't quite rhyme and sing them so convincingly that you don't notice. Or as Stephanie J. Block did last night, they can be so darned adorable on stage and fascinating that you can understand why someone would fall in love with them even though the play itself doesn't tell you. Believe it or not at this late paragraph but this is a near-rave review. I had a great time at the show. Everyone who was there last night had a great time.
Someone — maybe Jason, who's not only the star but the Artistic Director of Reprise! — maybe director Lonny Price or the show's authors who were consulted — figured out how to jazz up and patch this show into something that Alexander and Block could play the heck out of. There's some new dialogue. There are a couple of new songs, including the interpolation of "If You Remember Me," which is a tune Sager and Hamlisch whipped up for the movie, The Champ. Ms. Block sings it so well, that number alone may just be worth the price of admission.
Stephanie J. Block was the big delight for me. That's her in the photo above and she's sensational. I expected Jason Alexander to be sensational but I wasn't familiar with his co-star, who has some nice stage credentials. I've seen her in some things and didn't really know who she was. I do now. The show is there until October 10 and they may still have some seats left at this link. Try entering SONIA in the coupon box and it may give you 10% off. And you may see me there because I may go again.
There are two other "stars" of these proceedings. Scenic designer John Iacovelli and Lighting Designer Jared A. Sayeg have conspired to create the most amazing set. The entire stage of the Freud looks like a giant Panasonic record player with huge JBL speakers on either side of it. The turntable part is where the action is played with the tonearm serving as a sofa in some scenes. It sounds wacky but it's quite functional and appropriate, plus it adds an air of magic to the proceedings. I would love to ask these two men how they came up with it…
Oh, wait. I can. This coming Saturday, the 2 PM matinee will be preceded by a lecture/interview conducted by the noted theatrical authority, me. At Noon, I'll be on that stage (We'll have to figure out where and how) to discuss the history of this musical and to chat with Mr. Iacovelli and Mr. Sayeg about their work. This one-hour discussion is free and like I said, it starts at Noon. If you're attending the matinee, come early and bring a picnic lunch to eat during the hour after we vacate that amazing stage and the crew sets up for the performance. Or you can just come and hear the talk and not stay for the matinee if you like. But do try to see this show while it exists. They've taken a musical that I didn't think was that wonderful and made it mostly wonderful. In some ways, that's more impressive than doing a great production of a show that was great to begin with.