Words, not tunes, carry 'They're Playing Our Song'

The spoken scenes of the two leads in Stage West's production of the Neil Simon-Marvin Hamlisch musical are endearing.

By BARBARA L. FREDRICKSEN

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 16, 2000

Even though Neil Simon and Marvin Hamlisch's They're Playing Our Song is about a music composer and song lyricist, it seems more like a play than it does a musical. There are long stretches of dialogue and only nine different songs,fewer than most musicals.

That's just as well for the Stage West Community Playhouse production of the clever comedy, which opened Friday and continues weekends through July 23, because it's acting, not singing, that is the strong suit of the two leads upon whose shoulders the whole show rests: Charles DePalo, as composer Vernon Gersch, and Miranda Griffin, as lyricist Sonia Walsk.

Their spoken scenes are believable and endearing, with DePalo especially effective as the wisecracking, neurotic Vernon. DePalo delivers those sparkling Simon one-liners with just the right touch and with marvelous timing, and he acquits himself nicely in Fallin', They're Playing My Song and Fill in the Words through sheer charm.

Even so, the songs that work best are the ones that include the couple's alter egos, a sextet of fresh young performers who light up the stage with their very presence.

They're Playing Our Song was based on the stormy, real-life personal and professional relationship of composer Hamlisch with lyricist Carole Bayer Sager. In the fictionalized musical version, composer Vernon deals with his angsts by telling them to a tape recorder, while lyricist Sonia handles hers by becoming nursemaid/analyst to her former lover, the unseen Leon. Their attempts to compose songs and get a grip on their personal relationship are constantly interrupted by Sonia's devotion to Leon and by their own overblown egos.

The play, similar to the musical I Do! I Do!, was originally written for those two characters, when Simon and Hamlisch hit on the idea of filling out the personalities by adding three singing alter egos for each character: Vernon's boys (Jason Myers, Justin Sargent and Bradley Semma) and Sonia's girls, (Audrey Holeman, Jessica Michaelis and Victoria Primosch). Sonia describes them as "ego, passion and skepticism," and the stage comes alive when they join the leads for Workin' It Out early in the show and when Vernon's boys join him for Fill in the Words near the end.

Adding a lot to this show is Tony Martinez's piano and keyboard accompaniment, which is right on cue and sharp. This is especially important, as DePalo's character is supposed to play piano on stage, but the music is actually coming from the pit. DePalo and Martinez must be reading each other's minds to work together so well.

Ruth Osborne and Molly Lutz's costumes are colorful and sturdy and help to set the mood and to distinguish among the alter egos.

On its surface, this is a simple, straightforward story, but to be fully realized, it takes the hand of a deft director to bring out the nuances of each of the eight characters. The leads are able to do this through dialogue, but each alter ego needs some coaching to bring out his or her trait in some individualized way. Instead, director Betty Sue Taylor has the six players perform as a chorus line, which is entertaining and funny, thanks to the delightful players, but what individuality that is brought to each alter ego appears to be what the player makes of the role.

As always at Stage West, Sig Stock's set construction is solid, but Phil Hilton's set design, though attractive, results in too many long, noisy intervals between scenes, which severely disrupts the suspension of disbelief. This show would be a prime candidate for the triple-set design that worked so well in this theater's Cabaret.

Opening night was also plagued with lighting problems, the most annoying when the house lights were kept on during the opening scene of Act 2.

One opening night problem easily remedied was the incessant, loud talking of a man during the second act -- not in the audience, but behind the curtain. At times, his booming voice nearly drowned out the players.

All that said, They're Playing Our Song's delightful script and the periods of lively interaction on stage go far to compensate for the moments of less than stellar execution.

If you go

They're Playing Our Song, at Stage West Community Playhouse, 8390 Forest Oaks Blvd., Spring Hill, at 2 p.m. today and July 23, and 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $14. Box office is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and one hour before each show. Call (352) 683-5113.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.