A musical collection full of heart and charm
“Fresh out of bed, your life is outracing you / There dead ahead, another one’s facing you / Seems like at times they’re practically chasing you / Ev’rywhere another door.”
That stanza from the song “Doors” is our portal to the nuances of “Closer Than Ever,” marking the opening of the Chance Theater’s seventh season. Richard Maltby Jr. and David Shire’s revue about life’s transitions receives a sensitive, satisfying Orange County premiere.
A 1989 Outer Critics Circle winner, “Closer Than Ever” collates unused Maltby/Shire material into a unified entity that feels more organic than most such compendiums. As collaborators, lyricist Maltby and composer Shire have a rarefied gift for melodic, inventive, penetrating theater music. This typifies the musical’s exceptional songbook about gains, losses, relationships and change in the Digital Age.
Director Oanh Nguyen’s revised narrative concept assigns characters, cuts the “Sound of Muzak” and finds specific stakes in a previously amorphous scenario. Nguyen and cohorts Kelly Todd (choreography), Jeremy Golden (set), Masako Tobaru (lighting), Clarissa C. Pitts (costumes) and Casey Long (sound) explore the material with human-scaled wit and honesty.
The unmannered players, less vocally flashy than such originators as Brent Barrett and Sally Mayes, are altogether articulate and accessible, reaching breathtaking harmonic blend under Dean Anderson’s splendid musical direction.
As the pivotal estranged couple, rich-toned Darren C. Buckels and redoubtable Jocelyn A. Brown are enormously affecting. Ricky Culbertson’s rapid vibrato and goofy charm work wonderfully with the acerbic, jazzy Erika C. Miller. Bonnie Wickeraad suggests Tina Fey as a Broadway baby, and the open-throated Jim Goodridge radiates full-hearted appeal. That sums up “Closer Than Ever,” which sneaks inside your head and stays there.
*
‘Closer Than Ever’
Where: Chance Theater, 5552 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim Hills
When: 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays
Ends: Feb. 20
Price: $25
Contact: (714) 777-3033 or www.chancetheater.com
Running time: 1 hour, 55 minutes
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