Stars’ Friendship Outlasts Passion in ‘Falling’

They were both movie legends, with big-screen egos to match. When Marlene Dietrich and Maurice Chevalier--European stars transplanted to Hollywood in the 1930s at the height of their renown--met on the Paramount lot, a torrid affair and emotional fireworks were inevitable.

More surprising, though, is the lifelong friendship they achieved after their passion had cooled--a touching personal loyalty chronicled with charm and style in “Falling in Love Again” at the Santa Monica Playhouse.

Augmented with a smart selection of their signature songs, Jerry Mayer’s new play draws on multiple biographical and autobiographical sources to trace the parallel lives of Dietrich and Chevalier from 1932 to the aftermath of World War II, when Chevalier (James Warwick) was falsely accused of Nazi collaboration, and Dietrich (Marla Frees), the Hitler-hating German expatriate, rushed to his defense.

Propelled by his headstrong passions (unwilling to cede top billing either on the screen or in the bedroom), Warwick’s Chevalier is remarkably convincing in his worldly sophistication in matters of love, in his trademark nasal singing style, and later in his helpless wriggling in the grip of Nazi intimidation. As Dietrich, Frees captures the femme fatale’s heavy-lidded allure and her wit in encouraging or deflecting flirtation as it suited her. However, her vocal range is problematic--especially in the songs, where she’s unable to claim the lower registers with Dietrich’s husky authority. In a variety of supporting roles, Nick Jameson is committed and versatile.

Mayer’s script doesn’t dig too deep beneath the surface, letting the histories and natural charisma of his subjects sustain our interest. The only dramatic tension to speak of comes in the second-act controversy over Chevalier’s wartime activities (under threats of Nazi persecution against himself and his young lover, he continued to sing for the German-controlled Radio Free France and toured French POW camps in Germany, while the Americanized Dietrich entertained Allied soldiers in the field). But even here, don’t look for gritty, probing courtroom drama--Mayer is more concerned with telling an entertaining story, and by and large he has succeeded rather well.

* “Falling in Love Again: The Dietrich/Chevalier Story,” the Other Space at the Santa Monica Playhouse, 1211 4th St., Santa Monica. Thursdays, Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 5:30 and 9 p.m.; Sundays 7:30 p.m. Ends Dec. 31. $18-$22. (310) 459-1548. Running time: 2 hours.