Jerry Herman has nothing to do with the new musical Scrooge in Love! at the Eureka Theatre, but his words from three decades ago kept hopping onto the melodies that Broadway veteran Larry Grossman has created for this world premiere 42nd Street Moon production.
In accepting the songwriting Tony Award for La Cage aux Folles in 1984, he said his "award forever shatters the myth about musical theater that the simple, hummable show tune was no longer welcome on Broadway." Many saw it as a dig at Stephen Sondheim, whose Sunday in the Park with George was the main competition, but it was also likely that the composer of Hello, Dolly! and Mame was surprised and relieved to be back in the winner's circle after a string of flops.
Yet the "simple, hummable show tune" was not really to replant its flag on Broadway, at least not in ways that were somehow doing so without a broad wink at traditional stylings. But Grossman's score for Scrooge in Love! is quite happy pursuing the simple, hummable show tune. And while Kellen Blair's lyrics occasionally acknowledge they are in show-tune land, for the most part the songs earnestly, and successfully, maintain a largely lost tradition.
42nd Street Moon's primary mission is to revive seldom-seen Broadway musicals, and that list has included Grossman's Goodtime Charley and Minnie's Boys. But occasionally the troupe offers new shows that fit the Moon aesthetic, and Scrooge in Love! slides comfortably into that groove. It's a sequel to Dickens' A Christmas Carol, taking place one year after Ebenezer Scrooge spent his fateful night with the spirits of Christmases past, present, and future. Now he's more annoyed than fearful when the ghost of his late partner Jacob Marley makes a return appearance, thinking that his sunny disposition of the past year should free him of any more ectoplasmic visitations.
Duane Poole's book moves merrily along as Scrooge gradually recognizes his deep loneliness beneath the cheery veneer, and three new spirits guide him to finally reunite with the girl who got away many years before. The musical's creators may be traditionalists, but they also have a sense of contemporary whimsy. The Ghost of Christmas Past, deliciously played by Elise Youssef, is something of a bubblehead chorine who, with piercing emphasis, declares her Cupid's philosophy in "I Love Love." Will Springhorn Jr. merrily creates a campy Viking as the Ghost of Christmas Present, and an excellent Ryan Drummond plays a wearily wry Jacob Marley.
The multi-talented Jason Graae, who guest starred at 42nd Street Moon several years ago in Little Me, returns to play Scrooge in a performance that drives but doesn't overwhelm the production. Graae is equally skilled at finding both humor and pathos, and his pleasing voice is showcased in two of the score's best songs, "The Things You Should Have Done" and "A Kitchen Built for 20." He also has several opportunities to dance lively across the stage in Staci Arriaga's choreography.
On Hector Zavala's attractive set decorated with oversized replicas of clock gears, director Dyan McBride smoothly moves the production through its many scenes while pianist and musical director Dave Dobrusky gets a full sound from the three-piece accompaniment. All the ingredients have come happily together, making Scrooge in Love! a genuine reason to smile when holiday cheer always seems just a little more mechanical than the year before. For two hours at least, you can find a bah-humbug-free zone at the Eureka Theatre.
Scrooge in Love! will run through Dec. 13 at the Eureka Theatre. Tickets are $25-$75. Call (415) 255-8207 or go to 42ndstmoon.org.
Ebenezer Scrooge (Jason Graae) and Tiny Tim (Michael Grasso) have become good buddies as the new musical Scrooge in Love! takes the title character on another series of Yuletide adventures. Photo: David Allen