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American spinster Leona Samish travels to Venice to find romance, but doesn’t get exactly what she hopes for in “Do I Hear a Waltz?”
Sounds juicy — if not pulpy. And although the Encores! semistaged production doesn’t hide shaky spots — how could it?
— and is a bit dry and underwhelming, the show is a fascinating, seldom-seen curio.
There are some terrific songs, especially for the male lead, plus surprisingly and laudably grown-up themes like morality and infidelity. The show, called “a musical play” in the script, is also a piece of fascinating theater history.
Based on the 1952 play “The Time of the Cuckoo” by Authur Laurents, who wrote the ‘65 musical’s book, the show marks the lone — and famously unhappy — collaboration between composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Stephen Sondheim.
Rodgers’ melodies have typical sweep and bounce. Sondheim’s lyrics boast signature wit and acid. The songs capture the dynamics of curdling couples and unhappy relationships.
“We’re Gonna Be All Right” is probably the most cynical reconciliation song in the history of musicals.
It’s a duet between spouses, played by Claybourne Elder and Sarah Hunt. He’s cheated on her with a Venetian innkeeper played by Karen Ziemba, well-cast by director Evan Cabnet.
Unhappily ever after: “Sometimes she drinks in bed. Sometimes he’s homosexual” sing spouses played by Claybourne Elder and Sarah Hunt.
(Joan Marcus/©2016 Joan Marcus)
Melissa Errico stars as Leona, who’s raised her siblings and never married. But she has been around the block once or twice. She admits she can’t “wear white” if she weds.
Leona is by turns nice and neurotic. She’s also a mean drunk. Errico traces those curves with gusto and her voice shines on such songs as “Someone Woke Up” and the title tune.
As Renato, the married Italian who gives Leona semiprecious jewels and a brief fling, Richard Troxell gets two of the best numbers — the urgent “Take the Moment” and the romantic “Someone Like You” — and turns them into pure gold, like the St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice.
Leona’s lift is temporary. The impact of these songs lasts.