STAGE REVIEW : Long Night in Gaslamp With a ‘Party of 1’ : Theater: Twenty-three songs on the same theme proves to be a bit too much.

After seeing the opening night of “Party of 1” at the Gaslamp Quarter’s Elizabeth North Theatre, I decided to put the show’s four cast members to a test used in this show about being single.

If I were a single female, walked into a singles bar and saw Dan Wingard, I’d think, “Kinda cute, but too boyish.” Strike one. If I saw David Show, I’d think, “Handsome, but he reminds me of Alan Thicke.” Strike two.

But I’m male--and straight--so if I walked into a singles bar and saw Christine Sevec, I’d think, “Good energy, but too earnest.” Strike three. But I’m not out yet because I’m looking at Heidi Wilson: beautiful eyes, sexy in a Kathleen Turner kind of way. So what’s she doing in a singles bar? Must be something wrong with her. Strike four. I’m out.

And so is Morris Bobrow’s musical revue, which opens the Gaslamp’s 10th anniversary season. It’s occasionally clever, and there are a few high points, but do you really want to hear 23 songs on the same theme? This would make a good one-hour cabaret show. But this show is twice that length and it could use some judicious editing.

Especially since Bobrow’s upbeat tunes, which make up the bulk of the show, have a numbing sameness. The lyrics, while occasionally witty, are just as often predictable and trite. The cast members’ voices are pleasant, but none are exceptional.

The highlights? Well, there’s “Single and in Love in America,” where Wingard and Wilson give a geography lesson on the numerous states where cohabitation and sex between singles is still illegal. The line that brought down the house: “Seems if we’re horny, we ought to stay in Californy.” Director and scenic designer James Strait’s illustrated map for this song is a helpful prop in this otherwise static show.

“Three Cheers,” a vaudeville number performed by Snow and Wingard, is a fairly humorous homage to James Buchanan, our country’s only single president. That’s followed by “Hot Love,” a steamy, suggestive tune in the Fats Waller tradition, performed by Sevec and Wilson. It might have been more enjoyable if I hadn’t recently seen “Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” and heard the real thing performed by a stellar cast.

The only thread of a story line comes in a four-song sequence in the second act where Wingard and Wilson meet, fall in love, move in together and decide to get married, only to have the minister, a former boyfriend of Wilson’s, sweep her off her feet at the ceremony. Again, moderately entertaining, but there’s a major flaw. In the third song (“It’s Not True Love”), which is Sevec’s musical warning to the couple, she inexplicably uses a microphone for this doo-wop style number and the amplification is grating and completely unnecessary in this small, 96-seat house.

All the references to the trials of being single aren’t aimed at heterosexuals. In “What a Waste,” Wilson laments about finding the perfect man, only to discover he’s gay. And in the same number, the two men--one straight, one gay--can’t find mates.

There’s even a vague reference to AIDS in a number called “I Love Myself”--about, er, self-love. This one had the house roaring, but again, it’s been done before--and better: Listen to Tom Waits’ monologue on the subject on the album “Nighthawks at the Diner.”

Bobrow, who is a lawyer specializing in estate planning in San Francisco and has had modest success with other musical revues, recently said that continuing success on the stage might persuade him to give up his legal career. Don’t give up the day job yet, counselor.

“PARTY OF 1”

Book, lyrics and music by Morris Bobrow. Director, James A. Strait. Musical direction, Heidi Lynn. Scenery, James A. Strait. Costumes, Dianne Holly and Jeanne Reith. Lighting, Matthew Cubitto. Stage manager, Palmer Stephenson. With Christine Sevec, David Snow, Heidi Wilson and Dan Wingard. At 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sundays through May 5. Tickets are $20 for open seating. 547 4th Ave. (619) 234-9583.