Reviews

THE LEDGER Review

Reviewer: Michael Freeman

If there’s been one constant, overriding theme in popular music since recording studios first got invented, it hasn’t been war, or social justice, but something else entirely: the never ending pursuit of love.

Decade after decade, from genres as diverse as pop to the blues, to folk, rock and country, it’s been the most universal theme in music, that eternal question of why we fall in love, who we latch onto, and how that one individual can positively captivate us. Over the years, love songs have expressed a wide range of romantic emotions: the excitement of your first great crush, the heartache of a burning love that dies, the sorrow of learning you’ve been betrayed, and the determination to pick yourself up and start all over again. Entire albums have been created of nothing more love songs, all variations on that single theme.

In her new cabaret/musical revenue “Love is a Many Splintered Thing”, playwright Dorothy Marcic uses a series of love songs, mainly top 40 hits from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, to chart the changing nature of romance, from the initial thrill of first falling for that special someone, to the complex mixture of anxiety and exhilaration when you’re ready to settle down into marriage, to the sting of realizing the love has faded.

Marcic created a similar show called “Respect,” which used songs from different eras to create a kind of musical map demonstrating the changing role women have played in American society.

“Love is a Many Splintered Thing” operates on a more universal tapestry, connected not by how attitudes have changed over succeeding years, but rather how popular love songs have done a remarkable job of portraying specific moods, feelings and attitudes about the never-ending hunt for a suitable mate — to the point where the lyrics of those catchy, finger snapping hits create a story about how three couples find love, then sorrow, and perhaps a glimmer of hope once again.

The first act in this three act show looks at six high school students experiencing their first starry-eyed crush, not to mention more than a touch of burning passion at times – but at the same time learning ways to manipulate the object of their desire to get exactly what they want out of the relationship. Throughout the play, Marcic tells her story entirely through the songs, demonstrating that pop hits common to any radio listener may have beguiling beats, but also some rather insightful lyrics about the strange things that make our hearts tick.

Some of the songs come from the same songwriter, but express different emotions: early on, the three men share the elation of seeing a fresh face and knowing that’s it, they had found their one and only, through Neil Diamond’s “I’m A Believer” (“I thought love was only true in fairy tales, then for someone else but not for me -. Then I saw her face — now I’m a believer”). Much later, Marcic returns to Diamond when one couple’s marriage turns sour and they lament to one another, “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” (“You hardly talk to me anymore when I come through the door at the end of the day”).

By the end of the second act, dubbed “Honeymoon’s Over,” Marcic has tapped into virtually every romantic sentiment imaginable: rejection, lust, manipulation, and even the amazing discovery that once a passion for a loved one starts to fade, it can be re-ignited — a development you might never have imagined was possible.

“Love is a Many Splintered Thing” is less of a straight forward narrative than a look at how brilliantly popular culture has been documented through the songs we made into hits. Musicians and songwriters have done a much better job than you’d think of painting a picture of how men and women relate to — and often savage — one another in an effort to find the glory of love.

“Love is a Many Splintered Thing” is not only fun to watch because of the talented performers, or because of those memorable songs. Chances are few if any member of the audience won’t stop at some point during the show, and smile at the recognition that yes, you were there once, experiencing those exact same emotions and reactions. The wave of romantic nostalgia that “What We Do For Love?” evokes is an even better reason to attend and enjoy the show.