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REUNION

Reviewed by Lovell Estell III

The Noho Arts Center

Through December 15

Ahh, high school. For some people that time in their lives – filled with raging hormones, all-night proms, outrageous pranks, and really bad behavior – elicits fond memories. Other folks wish they could have skipped those years entirely.

In Marc Ellis, Michael Lange and David M. Matthews’ frothy musical comedy, the eleven middle-agers assembled for the Frog Neck High reunion initially are having a rollicking good time.  But as the festivities progress, veils lift on lives that – not surprisingly – are less than perfect.

Margot (Julia Marie Buis), the erstwhile glam girl and loose chick, is now a botoxed ex-trophy wife.  Jack (Jeffrey Rockwell) a former jock and perennial stud, gives his terminally insecure wife Sharon (Jann Cardia) good reason to be so (at one point she quips that she should affix a GPS tracker to his testicles.)

Wayne (Marc Cedric Smith) and Janet (Sharon Catherine Brown) were the only black kids at Frogs Neck, and they do an entertaining and provocative song about their experiences, called “African-American Students.”

The music is by Marc Ellis who, along with Lange and Matthews, penned the book and lyrics.  A good deal of the book – too much—tells of the once nerdy but now famous author Elliot (David Babich) and his forever crush on Amelia (Kim Reed), whose trip to the reunion seems fated not to happen (Does she make it?).  

Many of the songs are of the trifling miss-the-mark variety, and the singing isn’t always good quality. But some are outright knee-slapping hilarious, such has “Ask Your Doctor,” which is a splendidly crafted homage to advanced middle-age maladies.

With more heft and imagination in the libretto and fewer saccharine or melodramatic digressions, this would be a better show.

Director Kay Cole’s choreography is quite good. Joel Daavid’s set piece (a gigantic multi-color segmented dial that doubles as a video screen) isn’t anything special, but it does the job and resonates with a small town high school aura. Video stills of the old days are displayed throughout the show and include all the students except two (guess which ones?).  More often than not, it is hard to tell who’s who. It’s an annoying distraction in a production that really doesn’t need any more awkward touches.

NoHo Arts Center, 11136 Magnolia Blvd., N. Hollywood, Fri.-Sat., 8 pm.; Sun., 3 p.m.; through Dec. 15. (323) 960-7773 or Plays411.com/REUNION