Treading the
well-worn path of the single girl in the city--while
at the same time upending convention by making her
gay--The Break Up Notebook: The Lesbian
Musical elevates itself above the typical laments and
insights of the unpartnered urbanite with heavy doses of
energy, humor, and substance.
Star Heidi Godt
is up to the task as heroine Helen Hill, a journalist
suffering from the departure of her beloved girlfriend, who
has dumped her for another woman. Comforted by friends
Monica (Melody Butiu), Joanie (Jacqueline Maloney),
and Bob (Patrick Bristow), Helen picks herself up off
her ratty couch and enters the dating fray, which is packed
with enough injustices to keep the audience howling.
Lori Scarlett's music and Patricia
Cotter's book--based on her
play--includes a frenetic montage of Helen
crisscrossing Los Angeles, meeting "not-cute"
with a two-stepping 12-stepper at a gay country bar,
getting bent over at a lesbian sex club, and
additional scenarios that precisely capture the feeling of
dating "as a job."
All the
peculiarities of gay mating and dating get their due, with
U-Haul, White Party, and Saran Wrap jokes told with such
snappy melodic accompaniment that they somehow manage
to outlive their sell-by date. In between the raucous
musical numbers, choreographed to near-perfection by
Gail Conrad, the supporting stories--which include the
impending civil nuptials of Monica and Joanie, a
butch/femme couple fighting over who wears the dress
in the family--are fleshed out.
Bristow (best
known for queeny roles in Ellen and
Showgirls) does double duty, effectively portraying
"gay best friend" Bob as well as
Helen's laconic father. Deb Snyder as Helen's
mother brings soul to the affair with a pitch-perfect scene
of resignation, fear, and ultimate acceptance
regarding her daughter's orientation.
It's a scene that has played out a million times
between gay child and straight parent, and The
Break Up Notebook does it justice.
Also satisfying
is where Helen's quest for love leads, which is not
where one may expect. The ending is optimistic, but
not a cop-out, something this lesbian Sex and the
City has over its influential straight
predecessor.
Director Sue
Hamilton keeps the production top-notch, with scenery
changes as seamless and natural as the performances.
The Break Up
Notebook: The Lesbian Musical is playing at Los
Angeles's Hudson Backstage Theatre (6539
Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood) through February
12. For tickets call (323) 960-5563 or visit www.thebreakupnotebook.com.
