‘3hree’--Part Harmony

As longtime yenta to various theatrical talents, the formidable Harold Prince has seen it all. His producing resume includes “The Pajama Game,” “West Side Story” and “Fiddler on the Roof.” The directing list: everything from “She Loves Me” to “Cabaret” to an extraordinary string of Stephen Sondheim musicals, “Company,” “Follies” and “Pacific Overtures” among them.

In other words, at this point in his life, Prince can do whatever he likes. Lately, he has channeled more of his energies into a mentorship role. The trio of one-act musicals now at the Ahmanson Theatre, “3hree,” is the result of that role.

“3hree,” whose title is at least 2wice as cute as is really necessary, premiered last year at Philadelphia’s Prince Music Theater, formerly the American Music Theater Festival. The one-acts were, and are, designed to show off promising new or newish music-theater talent. Prince himself directs the third piece--”The Flight of the Lawnchair Man,” the one with the most expansive visual possibilities.

Together the three add up to about an hour and 50 minutes of variously textured whimsy. Transitions from one piece to the next are achieved in full view of the audience; at the back of the stage, we see the performers at makeup tables, while stagehands prepare the next setup.

“Small and sweet and odd” is how the man borne aloft by helium balloons describes his view of the earth below. The description holds for “3hree.”

“The Mice” comes from a few pages taken out of Sinclair Lewis’ novel “Cass Timberlane.” We’re in the deepest, coldest, most provincially Babbitty corner of Minnesota. Virga Vay (Valerie Wright, the ensemble’s standout, witty and lithe and versatile) is stuck in a crabbed marriage. The local exterminator, Allan Cedar (John Scherer), is likewise mired in his own state of matrimonial anti-bliss.

The affair between Virga and Allan, conducted in mice-infested customers’ homes (the mice are bred and released by Virga Vay), affords these poor souls a little solace. Then their plans take a turn for the murderous. (Lewis’ story went a different way; also, it involved a dentist, not an exterminator.) Composer Laurence Crawford O’Keefe, known locally for his scores of “Euphoria” and “Bat Boy: The Musical,” writes melodies with a wry, falling-upstairs quality, best represented here by “That’s All I Need.” There’s a pushy comic quality to director Brad Rouse’s staging, however.

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Like “The Mice,” “Lavender Girl” is quick, an overture plus five tunes. This one’s set in and around Montgomery, Ala., in the Jazz Age. Colin (Will Gartshore) nearly runs down a young woman, Emily (Rachel Ulanet), on the way to a dance. He is Instantly Smitten, only to learn that his mysterious lavender girl is . . . well, let’s just say she’s an unfilmed musical episode of “The Outer Limits” unto her gossamer self.

“Lavender Girl” librettist James D. Waedekin lets the audience get out ahead of the revelations here, which robs the piece of its intended atmospheric quality. Still, composer and lyricist John Bucchino writes a tasty, low-key Charleston number (“We’ve Got Time”), nicely spiced by Lawrence Yurman’s vocal arrangements.

“The Flight of the Lawnchair Man” is the biggie, directed by Prince. Childlike Jerry (Eddie Korbich, who appeared in “Seussical” and apparently still thinks he’s in it) has long desired to fly. He leaves behind his Passaic, N.J., girlfriend Gracie (Donna Lynne Champlin) and hits the skies, lifted by 400 helium balloons tethered to a lawn chair.

Sixteen thousand feet up, he’s spotted by a weirdly jealous airline pilot (Scherer, whose tiny fake mustache adds a dash of silliness) and his devoted flight attendant, Blaire (Wright). The initial sighting of Jerry prompts the rumba-inflected “What Is That?” and some pretty good conversational lyrics from songwriter Robert Lindsey Nassif. “It’s a patio chair/With a floral design/Just like mine!” observes Blaire.

The altitude plays tricks on Jerry. He is visited by great historical figures in aviation, including Leonardo da Vinci (Roger E. DeWitt), Charles Lindbergh as played by Jimmy Stewart (Herndon Lackey) and Amelia Earhart (Ulanet, very funny). Prince and costume designer Miguel Angel Hidor have fun with these apparitions. Throughout “3hree,” the large Ahmanson stage--not ideal for such a wee show--is light on scenery but heavy on Howell Binkley’s aggressive, highly saturated lighting design.

In the end, I didn’t fully buy “Lawnchair Man’s” brand of knowing naivete. None of the three pieces is especially distinctive. And yet, in showcase-style terms, each third of the intermissionless “3hree” achieves its goal.

Here’s hoping the writers involved run into more Princes in their future, willing and able to finance other, presumably full-length projects.

* “3hree,” Ahmanson Theatre, Music Center of Los Angeles County, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. Tuesdays-Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2 and 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Additional performances: Sunday and May 6, 13 and 20, 7:30 p.m.; May 24, 31 and June 7, 2 p.m. No evening shows next Tuesday or Wednesday. Ends June 10. $35-$70. (213) 628-2772. Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes.

Ensemble cast: Anne Bobby, Donna Lynne Champlin, Roger E. DeWitt, Will Gartshore, Eddie Korbich, Herndon Lackey, John Scherer, Rachel Ulanet, Valerie Wright

“The Mice”: Book by Julia Jordan. Music by Laurence Crawford O’Keefe. Lyrics by Nell Benjamin. Choreography by Rob Ashford. Directed by Brad Rouse.

“Lavender Girl”: Book by James D. Waedekin. Music and lyrics by John Bucchino. Choreography by Daniel Stewart. Directed by Scott Schwartz.

“The Flight of the Lawnchair Man”: Book by Peter Ullian. Music and lyrics by Robert Lindsey Nassif. Choreography by Michael Arnold. Directed by Harold Prince.

Scenic designer Walt Spangler. Costume designer Miguel Angel Huidor. Lighting designer Howell Binkley. Sound designer Duncan Robert Edwards. Music director and supervisor Lawrence Yurman. Orchestrations Michael Gibson. Production stage manager Lisa Dawn Cave.