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‘A Time for Love’ a lovely time at Studio Arena by Karen Keefe
You’ve got to give Studio Arena CEO Kathleen Gaffney credit. She has brought another extraordinary production to the stage with “A Time for Love – Songs from a Marriage.” While this may not be the ideal production for those who crave a traditional plot, most will enjoy this wonderfully nuanced love story of a late 20th, early 21st century couple – all told in song. Almost anyone who has been in love, made a commitment and worked to make a go of it can relate to the scenes these sophisticated songs evoke. In fact, the production’s only characters are generically named “The Woman” and “The Man.” This makes it easy to fill in the blanks with your own personal story, as Lois Robbins and Brian Sutherland sing and act out the hopes, passions, heartbreak, tedium and stress of a man and woman in love. Song titles such as “ A Little Bit Off” and “Sex and Breakfast” can hint at the polished, incisive wit of Richard Maltby Jr.’s words and David Shire’s staccato music. This is a legendary teaming that has produced hit Broadway musicals such as “Starting Here, Starting Now” and “Closer Than Ever,” from which some of these story songs were derived. While the audience may start out on the sidelines, rooting for the two main characters, when all is said and sung, it’s doubtful you’ll get away without a lump in your throat and a poignant, long-forgotten memory of your own bubbling to the surface. Robbins and Sutherland do well with the sassy and sensitive words by Maltby and wings of song by gifted Buffalo-born composer Shire. Perhaps neither singer has a voice you’d phone in to support on “American Idol.” But they can express such a broad range of emotion through their singing and acting that you soon forget any vocal shortcomings. Robbins has a thick, throaty contralto with an unerring pitch and Sutherland, a sometimes thin baritone that can also surprise with richness that makes the melodies soar. Both interpret the heck out of these theater songs. As their stage relationship deepens, the couple convey beautifully, through body language and musical prowess, the realities of blending two lives amid the strains of career, family and the temptations to stray. Accompanying them seamlessly through the song story are musical director and pianist Dean Mora and bassist Paul Zapalowski. Kudos to scenic designer Trefoni Michael Rizzi and the technical staff. Lighting was inspired and the sound was crisp and flawless. The production begins and ends with a tableau of the two, framed as if a photo in a family album. The Man and The Woman come to life through fascinating musical portraits. Most songs are duets; several are solos. All are counterpoint to The Man’s and The Woman’s transition through the singular and plural pronouns of infatuation, togetherness, estrangement and reconciliation. Lyrics suggest that if you “renovate a house, you renovate your lives” and “marriage is the small stuff.” It builds, though, to a portrait of what’s important in the lives of this couple – and all couples. In a stroke of genius – conceived by Maltby and director Joel Silberman – videos of three actual couples are interspersed with the theatrical song cycle. This is a spicy blend of cinema verite and Broadway bravura. The video couples are Merna and David Braun, Julie and Jack Nadel and Jean and Mike Steinberg. They come out with gems such as “Love may come and go, but beef brisket lasts a lifetime” and “We don’t go to sleep angry, we just stay up all night and fight.” The audience laughed out loud at the truths spouted by the video couples and approved heartily of the two leads and their spirited performance of the material. The production received a standing ovation on opening night. “A Time for Love” is a night at the theater that you will find easy to love. |
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