In Theatre Rhino's revisionist version, Marry Me a Little is turned into a kind of gay rendering of the marriage musical I Do! I Do!. Except here it is I Do! You Can't! We Don't!
Conceived by Craig Lucas and Norman Rene as a vehicle to air a collection of Stephen Sondheim's trunk songs, the original 1980 production was a minimalist musical offering more mood than plot about the plights of a romantically challenged man and woman. Director John Fisher has, with permission, cast the musical with two men, which wouldn't necessarily change the simple single-and-lonely tone, but he has put these characters into situations far more specific and charged, and with no more than a few pronoun changes to the lyrics that supply the entirety of the text.
You know you're not in 1980 anymore when the opening tableau depicts the two men on laptops exchanging messages setting up a first date. More specifically, we learn we are in 2008, as a large video screen intermittently shows various news and campaign spots leading up to the Prop 8 vote. The possibility of gay marriage becomes a propellant as the two men explore a relationship, and the disappointing electoral results have a parallel effect on their future together.
This socio-political overlay is intriguing, if not always a comfortable fit with the songs. But Fisher has transformed what is basically a revue into an energetic and imaginatively staged multi-scene musical, with playful choreography by Lia Metz, and the surprisingly involved pianist Dave Dubrosky at the onstage baby grand.
Yet at its heart, Marry Me a Little is essentially an excuse to give voice to Sondheim songs that, for one reason or other, failed to make it to the stage in such musicals as Company, Follies, Anyone Can Whistle, A Little Night Music, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. The songs, happily, are performed with both strong musicality and attention to the lyrics by Bill Fahrner and Caleb Haven Draper, who also invest the characters that could be ciphers with considerable personality.
The two songs written for Company are what get to the heart of the matter regardless of gender, era, or politics. The title song "Marry Me a Little" and "Happily Ever After" – both containing elements of their ultimate successor "Being Alive" – give each character the chance to explore the complicated emotions attached to commitment. Marriage equality may be around the corner, but getting to say the words "I do" is the easy part.
Marry Me a Little will run through Feb. 20 at the Eureka Theatre. Tickets are $15-$35. Call (800) 838-3006 or go to www.therhino.org.