‘On the Town’ Revived in Pasadena

Forty-six years ago, pals Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Robbins, Betty Comden and Adolph Green got together and decided to put on a show. Bernstein, of course, would do the music, Robbins the choreography, Comden and Green the book and lyrics. The result of that youthful collaboration was “On the Town,” a high-spirited World War II-set romp about three sailors’ New York adventures during a 24-hour leave.

Unproduced locally for the past 31 years, the California Music Theatre revives the musical--and its most famous song, “New York, New York (It’s a Hell of a Town)”--at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, beginning Saturday.

“We wrote it in four or five months, which is very fast,” recalled Green from his New York home. “It just all fell into place,” added Comden. “It was everyone’s first show, and I guess we didn’t know any better.” The husband and wife also wrote parts for themselves in the show--as Claire de Loon and Ozzie--which they played for over a year on Broadway. “We auditioned for (director) George Abbott just like any other actor,” Comden noted. “Well, maybe not like any other actor . . . . “

Although the musical’s setting stays rooted in the ‘40s, Green believes it has aged well. “There’s been no show quite like it since,” he said. “It’s madcap, energy-packed, a young people’s show, a Leonard Bernstein score, comedy with tragedy. There’s that whole undercurrent of the wartime thing, the poignancy of that, of people parting.” They feel the subsequent Gene Kelly movie (which they wrote) missed that youthful vigor. “It could never take the place of the play,” Green remarked.

Though the show hasn’t been visible locally (CMT star Lorna Patterson cites the demanding dance numbers as the reason), Comden and Green have noticed a recent increase of interest in the musical. In addition to reports of overseas stagings and a “lovely” production they saw last year at Washington’s Arena Stage, a big chunk of “On the Town” is featured in the Tony Award-winning “Jerome Robbins’ Broadway.” Said Green proudly, “It’s keeping the show alive.”

THEATER BUZZ: When Bruce Adler (of the Yiddish-English revue “Those Were The Days” at the Westwood Playhouse) was a baby, his parents, Henrietta Jacobson and Julius Adler, were stars of the Yiddish-American theater. One of their co-stars was a handsome young actor named Bernie Schwartz, who would often babysit the infant Bruce on his nights off. Then one day, Bernie was gone. “Enough of this Yiddish stuff,” said his farewell note, “I’m going to Hollywood.” And so he did . . . and became Tony Curtis.

CRITICAL CROSSFIRE: Howard Korder’s contemporary spiritual odyssey, “Search & Destroy,” is playing at South Coast Repertory. David Chambers directs.

Said The Times’ Sylvie Drake: “It’s impossible not to compare Korder’s language to David Mamet’s, but only in an effort to impart a sense of flavor. The words are Korder’s alone, as is the play . . . Rarely has a production come together as seamlessly as this one.”

In the Daily News, Daryl H. Miller felt the play “leaves the viewer intrigued but vaguely unsatisfied. Korder needs to do some more searching if this play is to become the jolting examination of American life that it is capable of becoming . . . “

Daily Variety’s Kathleen O’Steen wrote: “This new work from the author of ‘Boys’ Life’ should more likely be considered a work in progress. As it now stands, Korder fails to brings any enlightenment to a rather one-dimensional story . . . “

From Tom Titus in the Daily Pilot: “The American dream assumes nightmarish proportions in (this) darkly hilarious study in avarice that reaches out for the throats of its audience . . . At the heart of this gripping cynical exercise is Mark Harelik’s stunning interpretation of Mirkheim.”