BWW Reviews: Scott Rice & Company Celebrate His Birthday in Style With IT'S ONLY LIFE

You gotta give credit to Scott Rice: the man's got style! Approaching his 40^th birthday with the same trepidations that anyone would, instead of just throwing a drunken revelry for all his Nashville friends, he has chosen instead to become an impresario in order to produce, direct and star in the Music City premiere of John Bucchino's It's Only Life.

A musical review of works by Bucchino, an emerging voice in musical theater (he wrote the award-winning score for A Catered Affair, the 2008 Broadway musical that starred Faith Prince, Tom Wopat, book writer Harvey Fierstein, Leslie Kritzer and Matt Cavenaugh), it features a cast of five - Rice, Megan Murphy Chambers, Tyson Laemmel, Olivia Skurka and music director/pianist Rollin Mains - who bring Bucchino's songs to life. This cabaret retrospective of Bucchino's music is loosely strung together by theme (approaching middle age, a group of somewhat sophisticated individuals take a look at their past lives to cast a more critical eye toward what the future may hold for them), but lacks a cohesive storyline to make the "story" more compelling.

Relying on the musiciality of Bucchino's compositions and on the clever, introspective lyrics he has written for the pieces, It's Only Life gives its cast the opportunity to express universal fears and dreams to equal effect, affording audiences the opportunity to cast those same wistful glances upon their own lives.

Opening with "The Artist at 40" - and could any tune be more apropos for this thoroughly suitable birthday celebration? - and continuing through "A Glimpse of the Weave," It's Only Life follows the roller-coaster ride of a lifetime as our four unnamed characters express their longings, their regrets and recriminations and, ultimately, the pervasive sense of hope and gratitude with which they look ahead.

Clearly, Rice is one of Nashville's most versatile musical performers and he excels with Bucchino's material - and it doesn't go unnoticed that he so closely identifies with thatmaterial, which fits his own experiences like a well-fitting theatrical glove - which results in a charming, highly personal performance ("Painting My Kitchen" is great fun, while "On My Bedside Table" is witty and on-target).

There's no doubt that Rice sings from the heart, his expansive smile telegraphing to his audience the deeper meanings and richer shadings of the songs. His show-closing "Grateful" could well have been written for Rice and his heartfelt performance of the song (and its placement in the program) guarantee that you'll remember it for a long time to come.

Chambers, perhaps the one Nashville artist most in need of her own nightclub in which to showcase her amazing capabilities, provides strong and effusive support, lending her excellent interpretations to "Sweet Dreams," "When You're Here" and "I've Learned to Let Things Go." Although there's never been any question that Laemmel is a talented singer, he continues to show growth as an artist. His vocal stylings in It's Only Life are refreshingly endearing (though certainly no surprise there, either) and deceptively poignant and moving at times. Skurka's duet with Laemmel, "Love Will Find You In Its Time" is lovely, and her "Love Quiz" is funny and endearing.

As a song cycle, It's Only Life is entertaining and it's enormously inspiring to experience the work of a heretofore largely unknown composer, but the revue would benefit from a stronger dramatic arc - a storyline, if you will - to more effectively pull the audience into the work. As so often is the case, the show's score, performed sublimely by the always impressive Mains (who is given a piano solo on "Progression" to showcase his estimable talents), features a number of songs that immediately seize your imagination and work their way into your musical memory, while others are easily, lamentably forgettable and generic.

When performed by this talented troupe of actor/singers, It's Only Life remains an entertaining night of theater and the absolutely perfect way to celebrate the life and times of one of our all-time favorite performers at his creative zenith. Here's hoping Rice's Falling Fall Creations continues to push the envelope and deliver to Nashville audiences even more challenging offerings in the years to come.

It's Only Life. Music and lyrics by John Bucchino. Conceived by Daisy Prince and John Bucchino. Produced and directed by Scott Rice. Musical Direction by Rollin Mains. Presented by Falling Frog Creations. At Street Theatre Company, Nashville. Through October 9.

 

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