
DATE: Thursday, November 6, 1997            TAG: 9711050101

SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS         PAGE: 08   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: THEATER REVIEW 

SOURCE: Montague Gammon III 

                                            LENGTH:   81 lines

DUO BRINGS SIMON'S MUSICAL LOVE STORY TO LIFE

The production of ``They're Playing Our Song,'' a sweet love story now running at the Little Theatre of Norfolk, owes much of its charm to its two-person cast.

Neil Simon's book is pleasantly conventional, though saddled with overtones of the self-help era. Marvin Hamlisch wrote music that is enjoyably tuneful but hardly memorable, and Carol Bayer Sager turned out lyrics that are right in line with the music.

It's the two performers, especially female lead, Heather Renken of Chesapeake, who bring the show to life.

Simon's tale of love, and just a little lust, in the New York entertainment industry follows a fairly predictable path. Boy composer meets girl lyricist, composer and lyricist work together, boy and girl move in together, ghosts of old loves and the strain of working together come between them, boy and girl separate. It's not fair to reveal whether everyone lives happily ever after together or apart, but take it on faith that Neil Simon has yet to become known as a writer of tragicomedies.

Norfolk resident Michael Skoraszewski plays Vernon Gersch, a young composer who has achieved commercial and critical success while winning two Grammys and one Oscar. He's supposed to be one of the ``in'' crowd. Hearing himself compared to Stephen Sondheim, he remarks, ``Steve's good.''

Renken has the part of Sonia Walsk, who has had at least one song in the top 10 but somehow still lives in semi-poverty. Such inconsistencies suggest that Simon developed the character as he wrote but didn't go back to make her consistent.

The clever one-liner gag is Simon's hallmark, and there are just enough of them sprinkled through the script to leaven the show with numerous chuckles and a sprinkling of hearty laughs.

Vernon is written as a sort of Woody Allen character, awash in insecurities and submerged in consideration of his neuroses. Sonia is supposed to be a high energy flake of the first water, apt to put on one of her second-hand dresses backwards when flustered, or to rush out the door on a winter evening clad only in nightgown and heavy coat.

Director David Burton and the performers have toned down both characters. Sonia in particular doesn't have the manic eccentricity or impetuousness that Vernon's comments suggest, but Renken has a smile that makes her a 24-carat charmer.

Other shows have shown how subtle an actress Renken can be. Here she puts to good use a protean range of facial expressions and an appealing, flexible singing voice. Both her singing and acting abilities come into play when she makes her solo rendition of ``I Still Believe in Love,'' the high point of the show, just as the authors intended.

Vernon is the wittier of the pair, the one given to wry remarks and clever commentary upon how they both behave. Skoraszewski turns in a notably strong singing performance and takes a serviceable, believable approach to the character.

The composer seems sympathetic, likable, though perhaps not as vulnerable as the lines sometimes suggest. In tandem with his co-star, Skoraszewski becomes something of a foil, but this is a love story written from the male point of view, so it's understandable that the female character is granted most of the charm.

Tales of moderately troubled romance provide audiences the chance to hope everything turns out right for those nice young folks up on the stage. Such stories let one applaud their happiness, fret when their love turns sour, and get a fun but not too scary emotional roller coaster ride as reconciliation hesitantly nears. ``They're Playing Our Song,'' benefits from performers whose talents and sincere approach to their roles make the show a bit of buoyant entertainment. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Michael Skoraszewski and Heather Renken star in ``They're Playing

Our Song,'' at the Norfolk Little Theater.

Graphic

WANT TO GO?

WHAT: ``They're Playing Our Song,'' book by Neil Simon, music by

Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Carol Bayer Sager

WHEN: 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 14-15, 21-22; 2:30 p.m.

Sunday, Sunday and Nov. 16 and 23.

WHERE: Little Theatre of Norfolk, 801 Claremont Ave.

TICKETS: 627-8551