BWW Reviews: THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG at Virginia Rep Will Leave You Humming Along

They're Playing Our Song has long been one of my personal favorite musicals. Yes, I am old enough to have seen the original Broadway Production with Robert Klein and Lucie Arnaz, and I even performed scenes from it in college. While more than 30 years have passed, Virginia Repertory Theatre at Hanover Tavern's current production shows that the musical stands the test of time.

The story is a simple one, based on the true life story of composer Marvin Hamlisch and lyricist Carole Bayer Sager. It is the story of boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back (at least til the end of the show).

With the duo writing the music for the show, and a script by comedy legend Neil Simon, it was bound to be a hit in 1979, but the jokes and songs (except for a bit of disco) are just as funny and touching now as they were then.

Landon Nagel is fun and charming as the sarcastic and neurotic Hamlisch character-Vernon Gersch. His voice matches the "average" quality Hamlisch himself had, and his performance contains enough elements of New York City Jew (ala Woody Allen) to hit the mark. Aly Wepplo brings energy, pertinence and a warm glow to Sager's embodiment- Sonia Walsh. Her melodic voice could easily sell each style of music.

Some of the greatest fun comes from a Greek Chorus-like trio of "selves" that join the pair on stage to sing many of the numbers. That ensemble (Brianne Chin, Anne Michelle Forbes, Jessi Johnson, Todd Patterson, Jeff Sundheim and Durron Tyre) also dance and flip their way through every charming scene change.

Director Jan Guarino use the small Hanover Tavern stage well to keep the energy flowing and allow the majority of the audience to have a good view of the action. Jeanne Nugent's costumes work well, especially the wardrobe of Sonia and the "selves."

Terrie Power's set provides the essence of a variety of scenes, but I was not very impressed with a rather cheesy and chintzy back drop, which shook as cast members walked by and squeezed through entrances and exits and often revealed people "attempting" to duck down behind it during scenes.

Beyond that, this was a flawless recreation of a work that is not performed nearly enough. Catch it while you can at Hanover Tavern though January 4, 2015. It will leave you humming along long after you leave the theater. www.va-rep.org

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