Stage Reviews : La Mirada Musical ‘Suds’ Makes ‘60s a Dream

The good ol’ days? There’s no such thing. Only in the dream world of nostalgia.

That’s what writers Melinda Gilb, Steve Gunderson and Bryan Scott have tossed together in “Suds,” the early ‘60s musical at La Mirada Theatre--a dream world. It wasn’t really like this. The gals weren’t constantly jumping up and down in excitement and the guys didn’t wear formal dress to pin messages on Laundromat bulletin boards. But this is the image that lingers and that’s the way things are at Cindy’s Wash-O-Rama.

The show has a fine score. Of course, they’re all original hit songs from that era, and it’s comforting to know that many of them still sound great three decades later. The show does suffer from that constant bane of musicals--there isn’t much of a book.

Cindy’s lost her pen-pal boyfriend on her birthday and is about to do herself in on the agitator of one of her washers. Marge and Dee Dee, her guardian angels, plop down to set her straight, all to the tunes of the time--”Mr. Postman,” “Wonderful, Wonderful,” “Johnny Angel” and “Where the Boys Are.”

In spite of the cartoon characters they play, the cast is top-notch. Director Glenn Casale--along with musical director Dennis Castellano--keeps it all moving at breakneck speed, which helps a good bit, but the itsy-bitsy, low-sudsing choreography of Mark Knowles diminishes a lot of the energy the company generates.

The costumes by Garland Riddle, a designer usually on the button, frequently look like they’re from another period. Zoot-suit jackets went out with the end of World War II, but that’s only one of the spots these “Suds” can’t handle.

At 14900 La Mirada Blvd., Tuesdays through Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7:30 p.m.; matinees Saturdays and Sundays, 2:30 p.m., until May 20. $18-$20; (213) 944-9801 or (714) 994-6310.