San Diego, a Musical Place to Be

Musicals, for better or worse, have become the lottery ticket of the American mainstream theater. Craft a hit and take it to Broadway, and the world of box-office and popular success can be yours.

That’s one big reason why a Southern California city with more than one major regional theater would want to get into the new musical game. Moreover, theaters that premiere new musicals also would have reason to present provocative recent pieces.

Yet the city that’s doing this is not Los Angeles, but San Diego.

Here in L.A., apart from the rare Shubert-housed “Sunset Boulevard” or “Ragtime,” the major venue musicals we see are often already proven, or at least among the most tame of premieres. This is certainly the case with the Ahmanson and the Mark Taper Forum. The Geffen Playhouse, which is a young venue, isn’t making musicals a mainstay. And Pasadena, which is now under the leadership of the musical-adept Sheldon Epps, hasn’t yet done enough that we can tell how venturesome it might prove.

Instead, musical aficionados have been looking south. Over the past decade and arguably even longer--since the re-creation of the La Jolla Playhouse in 1983--San Diego has outpaced L.A. in terms of presenting either the premieres or the West Coast premieres of noteworthy musicals. And judging from what’s on deck for 1999, that trend is set to continue.

First up, at the Old Globe in February, is the Adam Guettel-Tina Landau “Floyd Collins.” A 1996 off-Broadway success, the piece takes place in 1925 and chronicles the story of a Kentucky farmer who became trapped in an underground cave while searching for a site to make into a tourist attraction. His plight, along with the ultimately unsuccessful efforts to extract him, triggered a media feeding frenzy that raises the specter of modern-day press excesses.

The piece’s young co-creators, composer Guettel and book-writer and director Landau, met as undergraduates at Yale. Landau is best known for her work with New York’s En Garde Arts, a maverick organization dedicated to presenting innovative site-specific pieces throughout Manhattan. And suffice it to say, she’s much more of a directorial young Turk than we’re used to seeing at the Globe.

Come July, the La Jolla Playhouse weighs in with the premiere of a musical adaptation of Charlotte Bronte’s “Jane Eyre.” Both music and lyrics are by Paul Gordon, who’s best known as a songwriter for such artists as Bette Midler, Amy Grant and Quincy Jones. The libretto and additional lyrics are by former Royal Shakespeare Company associate director John Caird, who co-directed both “Les Miserables” and “Nicholas Nickleby.” Caird also co-directs “Jane Eyre,” this time with Scott Schwartz.

And even if neither the Globe nor the Playhouse entrees live up to expectations, musical fans will have one more treat to anticipate. The Barry Manilow-Bruce Sussman musical “Harmony,” which premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse in October 1997, is set to resurface in New York this spring.

The poignant and artfully crafted show is based on the true story of the Comedian Harmonists, a group of young German men, both Jewish and Gentile, who gained fame during the waning years of the Weimar Republic, before coming in conflict with the Nazis. “Harmony” boasts a lavish and versatile score, with much of its highly effective music reminiscent of theatrical and pop songs of the 1920s and ‘30s.

“Harmony” also has former Playhouse artistic director Des McAnuff serving as its executive producer, which bodes well. Could it be magic? It could indeed.

*

THOSE OTHER YIPPIES: Speaking of musical theater, one thing that L.A. does have over San Diego is a little-known event at the Taper. Once each year, the Center Theatre Group hosts a salon dedicated to a genius of the musical theater, and this year’s seventh annual event pays homage to the great lyricist E.Y. “Yip” Harburg.

Set for Feb. 1, “Look to the Rainbow” will honor the man who penned the words for the songs in “The Wizard of Oz,” as well as such standards as “April in Paris,” “It’s Only a Paper Moon” and “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” The performance is a benefit for the CTG, and specifically its discount ticket programs. Tickets are $250, with some available at $100. For information, call (213) 972-7660.