Theater Review : Ambitious ‘Highway’ Dead-Ends

On July 20, a quarter-century will have passed since men first walked on the moon. “Dixie Highway,” a musical in its world premiere at the Hahn Cosmopolitan Theatre, tries to capture the wonder of that time, but it never quite does.

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It’s especially frustrating because the talent both on and behind the stage is so strong that one keeps rooting for this show to succeed.

The collaborators for “Dixie”--director, lyricist and book co-writer Will Roberson, composer Steve Gunderson, choreographer Javier Velasco and star Melinda Gilb--are the same team that launched “Suds,” a bright, winning spoof of ‘60s music that traveled from San Diego to off-Broadway five years ago.

But in “Dixie Highway,” a five-character story about a waitress in a Kentucky roadside diner, their high spirits seem constricted by some Need to Say Something Important. A resulting overload of melodrama and corn-pone sentimentality leaves “Dixie Highway” as flat as blown-out tires on an 18-wheeler.

Actually, all Roberson and company have come up with is an uninspired riff on mother/daughter conflict. Hard-working waitress/war widow Dixie (Gilb) has scrimped and saved to send her daughter Sarah (Christine Hewitt) to college. But Sarah doesn’t want to go to college. She wants to write. A hippie (Rick D. Meads) passes through the diner with a flair for music but not for lyrics. Guess what happens next?

Roberson and Tom Oldendick, his co-writer, seem to be suggesting that the moonwalk at once symbolized and inspired change. But they don’t want to tackle the anger that exploded because of all that change. Racial tension was high after the murder of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.; Roberson and Oldendick merely throw in an African American character, Iris (Tracy Hughes), who gets along great with everybody. And even though the Vietnam War was raging, when the hippie meets up with a my-country-right-or-wrong electronics salesman, they become best buddies.

When Roberson relaxes and has fun with the show, with “Suds”-like parodies of Gladys Knight and the Pips, it’s a blast. Gale McNeeley is endearing as Carl, the electronics salesman who has proposed marriage to Dixie every Sunday for years.

Gilb, a charismatic performer with a searing voice, is hampered by having to wear a sour expression for most of the show. Hughes has a rich voice and all the right moves, but her part is just not believable. Meads is another gifted actor with vocal talent to match, but his part, too, is a thin one. Hewitt plays Sarah with charm but can’t make the rebellious teen-ager more than a caricature.

Another disappointment: Gunderson’s music. It makes for some passionate and/or clever moments. But it’s supposed to reflect a decade of unforgettable music, and it lacks even a single song that stands out. (Gunderson’s arrangements, however, are impeccable.)

Velasco’s choreography has a natural yet impish delight to it, from the Pips spoof to the graceful water kicks by the waitresses soaking their feet as they sing “Two Bit Dreams.”

Robin Roberts’ set comes with old-time diner prices (45 cents for a BLT) and all the proper gums and candies on a shelf under the cash register. Dione Lebhar’s costumes also evoke the times, from the hippie patches to Carl’s too-short pants over white socks. Ashley York Kennedy’s lighting is alternately, and suitably, romantic and nostalgic.

Ultimately, though, the big problem with “Dixie Highway” (named after a real highway in southern Kentucky) is that it just doesn’t know where it’s going. Roberson and Oldendick should either write a real story or just reach for the fun.

* “Dixie Highway,” Hahn Cosmopolitan Theatre, 444 Fourth Ave., San Diego. Wednesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Ends June 23. $21.50-$26.50. (619) 234-9583. Running time: 2 hours, 12 minutes. Melinda Gilb Dixie

Christine Hewitt: Sarah

Tracy Hughes: Iris

Gale McNeeley: Carl

Rick D. Meads: Jason

A Julia Holladay production. Music, vocal arrangements and orchestrations by Steve Gunderson. Lyrics by Will Roberson. Book by Roberson and Tom Oldendick. Directed by Roberson. Choreography: Javier Velasco. Musical direction: Bill Doyle. Sets: Robin Roberts. Costumes: Dione Lebhar. Lights: Ashley York Kennedy. Sound: Jeff Ladman. Stage manager: Mark Stevens.