A Singles ‘Party’ in Need of a Bit More Punch

Morris Bobrow’s musical-comedy revue about single life, “Party of One,” at the Century City Playhouse, features five beautiful voices (Valerie Doran, Jennie Fahn, Jason Heil, Joe Symon and Melanie Wingert) in nice harmonies, but lacks the slinky sexiness or the great physical comedy that would give it some much-needed pizazz.

Bobrow’s 25 musical numbers cover what one would expect: the negativity of being single, “Un”; the biological time clock and comparisons to one’s mother’s era, “My Mom”; over-scheduled lives, “Booking It”; and settling for “Mr. Not-So-Bad” in “Expectations.”

Much of this is the same ground covered by another musical revue in Los Angeles, Joe DiPietro’s and Jimmy Roberts’ “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.”

While DiPietro and Roberts’ revue offers a view of love at different stages of life, “Party of One” limits itself to desperate young singles. Under Fara Marz Shahbazian’s direction and Lisa Covell’s choreography, Bobrow’s piece contents itself with sweetly innocent couplings. Although both musicals are constrained by stereotypes, “I Love You . . . “ offers physically comic portrayals of 1990s lust, making it infinitely more entertaining.

“Party” could be pared down. “Booking It” and a skit about obsessively buying specialized kitchenware don’t really fit and aren’t special enough to keep.

The tunes are pleasant and the cast has winning smiles, yet why take the sizzle out of being single?

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* “Party of One,” Century City Playhouse, 10508 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m. Dark through Thursday, resumes next Friday. Ends Feb. 27. $17-$12. (310) 798-7878. Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes.