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Married Alive!
Book and Lyrics by Sean Grennan
Music by Leah Okimoto
Directed by Vicky Bussert
At Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire
100 Marriott Drive
Lincolnshire, IL
Call 847-634-0200, tickets $42
Wednesdays at 1 & 8 pm
Thursdays & Fridays at 8 pm
Saturdays at 5 & 8:30
Sundays at 1 & 5 pm
Running time 2 hours, 15 minutes with intermission
Through August 30, 2007
Excellent performances help predictable spoof of marriage
Maybe it’s me but I’ve seen too many chamber musicals about marriage: I Love You, Your Perfect, Now Change, Baby, I Do, I Do, Defending the Caveman…and now Married Alive!? I have trouble relating to the married life since I’ve never married. I also am tired of the William Finn style ‘talk songs’ that have a sameness of tone and rhythm. I know I’m the odd man out with this show since the audience laughed and cheered this well acted musical. So let me turn reporter here.
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Married Alive! is a new musical first performed at the American Heartland Theatre in Kansas City. It celebrates marital bliss and blisters featuring two couples: Erin (Kelly Sullivan) and Paul (David Larsen) a pair of naive newlyweds and Ron (Gene Weygandt) and Diane (Kathy Santen) a mature pair of ‘oldyweds.’ Married Alive! is a series of sketches mostly sung through that moves from the wedding to empty nest to old age in a light-hearted and often funny spoof of marriage in contemporary times. From the “Stupid in Love” song we get the feeling that the newbie are wide-eyed in love (or lust) and the oldies are jaded and bittersweet. “Fly to Me” is a smart love song that speaks to the young couples’ conflict between careers and being apart. The “We Owe Money” attacks the wives penchant to spend. These are among the score that garners laughs as the lack of communication and the difference between men and women in a marriage is cutely played out. Married Alive! demonstrates many of the highs and lows of married life.
I thought the older couple’s material was a tad demeaning in that lack of sex and appreciation for the wife by the man was exaggerated. Gene Weygandt and Kathy Santen worked hard and delivered many terrific songs and deft comedy. Kelly Sullivan seemed too smiley and doll-like while David Larsen is truthful as the young married guy. The cast worked hard to land their songs and played the comic moments marvelously. While not much of the material cover new ground, it offered cute light weight entertainment for summer pleasure. Gene Weygandt and Kathy Santen are a treat to behold.
Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed: July 6, 2007
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