Melody Butiu as Hope and Robert Brewer as Charles in LONG STORY SHORT
The 3 of us had a blast at opening night on October 9. Apparently, so did the critics: we are absolutely delighted, and it’s clear the momentum of this show is now revitalized. We have very high hopes for the future, as does the San Diego Union-Tribune: “Long question short: when does it go to New York?” (see below)
Meanwhile, get thee to this production if you can! The show runs through November 1 at San Diego Rep – and this weekend ONLY, 2-for-1 tickets are available. Full price tickets are $39-53, and you can use code CPLS to get 2 for 1: call the box office at 619.544.1000.
“Every time I look at you, I turn into me.” It’s the kind of clever, compact line that pops up again and again in the dialogue and lyrics of Brendan Milburn and Valerie Vigoda, the show’s married writer-composers (and co-founders of the band GrooveLily). Their music is equally distinctive. Vigoda is a top-notch violinist, and while neither she nor Milburn are part of the production’s five-piece ensemble, strings and piano (Milburn’s specialty) are a key to their score’s melodic pop-rock pleasures. The show’s sound turns out to be a blissful departure from the usual musical-theater tropes, with plenty of stylistic shifts but enough unity to hold together the unorthodox storytelling…This smart and surprising show — still in just its third production — is already more than a match for other small-scale musicals I can think of that managed good runs off-Broadway. Long question short: When does it go to New York? — James Hebert, San Diego Union-Tribune (read FULL STORY HERE)
The work is funny and true, and, like any marriage, Charles and Hope’s is beset by misunderstandings, negotiations, adjustments and tragedy. Humor is what gets them through. Expect to laugh a lot, weep a bit, and be totally swept up in an almost through-sung tale that’s told through expert language, (Vigoda) gentle lyricism (Milburn) and a grand feel for the inside of a long term relationship. As with the musical Striking 12, also written by Milburn and Vigoda and performed by their GrooveLily three-person band at the Old Globe in 2003, the music is not easily categorized, because it is a seamless marriage of rock ‘n’ jazz ‘n’ folk with an abiding musical theatre sensibility…Particularly haunting are the musical numbers “It Happens in a Moment” and “Live Like This,” and much midlife angst and gentle humor are limned by “Empowered,” Hope’s experience with being a middle-aged divorced woman. Many thanks to San Diego Rep for bringing GrooveLily’s Milburn and Vigoda’s music back to our ears and hearts. Fans may have to see/hear this more than once.
Bottom Line: BEST BET — Charlene Baldridge, San Diego Theatre Scene (read FULL STORY here)
Everything old is new again with likable LONG STORY SHORT: Contemporary, hummable and concise…Fans who saw GrooveLily’s musical STRIKING 12 at the Old Globe in 2003 will be familiar with Milburn’s songwriting — breezy, jazzy/pop numbers where the electric violin and keyboard lead the melody (the most memorable numbers are “One Hundredth of the Love” and “Letting Go”)…Vigoda’s clever lyrics make each number unique, particularly “Unpacking the Suitcase” (where the newly married couple catalog their likes and dislikes with the apologetic “I don’t mean to be a jerk but …”); “There She Goes” (where with each verse, a daughter goes from first grade, to her bat mitzvah, to rebellious teen, to UCLA freshman); and “Empowered” (where 50something Hope’s dating experiences take her from “empowered” to “emboldened” to “embarrassed”). — Pam Kragen, North County Times (read FULL STORY HERE)