Some Enthusiasts (Old Globe)

'Some Lovers'Credits: A Classic Globe presentation of the musical in a single act with book and lyrics by Steven Sater and music by Burt Bacharach. Directed by Will Frears. Musical staging, Denis Johnson. Music supervisor, Lon Hoyt. Orchestrations, Jonathan Tunick. Vocal design, Annmarie Milazzo. Ben - Jason Danieley Molly - Michelle Duffy Youthful Ben - Andrew Mueller Youthful Molly - Jenni Barber"Some Enthusiasts," the brand new Burt Bacharach-Steven Sater vestpocket tuner, got its inspiration in the dual irony of O. Henry's "Gift from the Magi": Husband sells watch to purchase wife hair combs, while wife sells tresses to purchase spouse watchfob. There's irony in the Old Globe, too, for the reason that octogenarian composer Bacharach brings youthful quality towards the project, as the youthful man's work (Sater authored "Spring Awakening") is lifeless and dull. The show has some sparkle, but it is a meandering romance. Blocked, heavy-consuming tunesmith Ben (Jason Danieley) uses Christmas Eve being an chance to try to reunite with ex-g.f. and muse Molly (Michelle Duffy). Maybe they have both caught the Gotham revival of "Follies," simply because they conjure their more youthful selves (Andrew Mueller and Jenni Barber) to visit lower a musical memory lane and straighten out what went awry. The cast is sensational. Danieley and Duffy are confident pros to whom, within an earlier theatrical era, original musicals would have occurred every season. The children match them step for part of charisma and brio. Bacharach -- in the first stage tuner since "Promises, Promises" in (will it be?) 1968 -- provides sweet, soaring tunes for past and offer incarnations of the mismatched pair, while eschewing his once-signature tricky time signatures (naturally, because the figures are extremely square). However the writing! "Some Enthusiasts" plays as an extended bout of couples therapy, where the participants sing around their problems while never exactly interacting anything germane or interesting. As close to it's possible to write out, NYU business major Molly falls deeply in love with Ben due to his capability to write fine tunes she inspires. But she will get pissed off when his creative mania causes him to overlook visits and obtain distracted on the vacation. Does she esteem his gift -- his "ghost," she grimly calls it -- or does not she? He begins turning out hits once he shacks up by having an un named singer. It's strictly professional, but Molly quickly demands he give "that girl" up, after which his career falls apart. Then she keeps nattering he should obtain a "real job," marry her and provide her an infant. In a nutshell, a larger portrait of the jealous, controlling, castrating harpy is difficult to assume. Sater sways on strained parallels using the O. Henry story rather than grounding the figures in specificity. When Molly provides a very pointed laugh line concerning the Nativity Magi, you are able to literally begin to see the audience awaken from its torpor. Meanwhile, his lyrics wallow in past tense expressions of generic pop sentiment, the near-rhyming of "Spring Awakening" absolutely unnatural among precise thinkers like Ben and Molly. (At some point Sater really rhymes "summer time/other/lover" right consecutively. Paging Hal David.) Helmer Will Frears and musical stager Denis Johnson can perform little with this particular material except possess the cast saunter round the arena stage. Inside a final irony, Takeshi Kata's untidy set is really as cluttered with naturalistic detail as Sater's script is bereft from it.Models, Takeshi Kata costumes, Jenny Mannis lighting, Ben Stanton seem, Leon Rothenberg. Opened up 12 ,. 7, 2011. Examined 12 ,. 13. Running time: 95 MIN. Musical Amounts: "Molly," "Aren't We?" "Some Enthusiasts," "Aren't We?/Another Start," "Love Me to have an Hour," "Coping With a Ghost," "Popular for you personally,Inch "Window Shoppin' and Dreamin' Dreams," "The Only Real Music I Realize,Inch "The Lady Who Sang My Tunes," "Hold Me," "A 1000 Stuff That Had You Been,Inch "Thanks for visiting My World," "Prepared to Be Achieved Along With YouOrA 1000 Stuff That Had You Been (Reprise)," "Almost Every Other Hour," "Just Leave,Inch "This Christmas," "Hush," "This Christmas" (Finale). Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com