STAGE REVIEW : ‘RODGERS & HART’

It’s hard to imagine a richer collaboration in the musical theater than Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart--unless, of course, it’s Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. But what Rodgers and Hart produced between 1920 and 1943 paved the way for the work that Rodgers and Hammerstein did, and that makes “Rodgers and Hart” at Cal State Fullerton a journey worth taking for anyone interested in the lineage of the American musical theater.

Lineage aside, the songs alone make this trip worthwhile: “Bewitched” (Bothered and Bewildered), “Falling in Love With Love,” “The Lady Is a Tramp,” “My Funny Valentine,” “There’s a Small Hotel,” “Mimi,” “Where or When.” And that’s just for starters. Director Dean Hess has fashioned the Richard Lewine-John Fearnley revue into a swift, enjoyable tour through three decades of this remarkable songwriting partnership. His student cast is capable and demonstrates an obvious appreciation for the music.

And the music still sounds fresh. The team’s sometimes sentimental, occasionally acid slant on love is summarized in a cleverly staged medley that includes “My Heart Stood Still,” “Isn’t It Romantic?” “Wait Till You See Her,” “My Romance” and “I Wish I Were in Love Again.” Another amusing segment focuses on the partners’ four years in Hollywood, where they composed mostly forgettable music for the movies. (Out of that period came one of their best, “Blue Moon,” which never made it into a movie or a musical.)

The cast pays tribute to Hart’s wonderful lyrics by paying careful attention to enunciation. The vocal work, however, is uneven; the women’s tends to be more consistent than the men’s. But together they create some lovely harmonies, especially in an evocative version of “Manhattan.” Individual moments shine, too: Among them, Laurie Freed’s wicked rendition of “To Keep My Love Alive”; a stirring “With a Song in My Heart” by Meredith L. Woodson; a lively duet version of “This Can’t Be Love” featuring Peggy Riley and Rich Ascroft; a quietly moving “I Could Write a Book” by Kirk Mouser; “Little Girl Blue,” that heart-wrencher, by Darlene Warner Zivich and a crusty version of “Ten Cents a Dance” by Suzanne Joan Wyant.

Robert Christianson’s streamlined choreography nicely conveys a lot with a little, and gives Ascroft some neat solo spots. This production draws on brief--sometimes too brief--suggestions in the costuming and props to define time and place. The set vaguely suggests Central Park, but the woodsy background seems too pastoral for Hart’s Manhattanized wit. The look of the show gets better definition from Bill A. Liotta’s fine lighting design.

“Rodgers and Hart” will play through Sunday in the Cal State Fullerton Little Theatre, 800 N. State College Blvd., Fullerton. For information, call (714) 773-3371.