“Nobody Loves You”: Musically Funny Fodder for the Dialogue
Regarding the Sad State of TV
Words by Kristen Fogle
For those that think reality TV can have a profound effect
on your life, here’s your show.
“Nobody Loves You,” a world premier musical comedy currently
playing at the Old Globe, takes its concept from reality TV dating shows like
“Blind Date” and “The Bachelor.” But, in this show, the program everyone
watches is “Nobody Loves You,” and its goal is simple—put singles into a house,
have them compete in asinine competitions and then pair off—the person that
doesn’t pair off each week is sent home because, well, nobody loves you. Jeff,
a Ph d. hopeful working on his dissertation in philosophy, could care less,
except that his girlfriend Tanya is obsessed with the show. When Tanya dumps
Jeff and vows to be cast in “Nobody Loves You,” Jeff decides to apply also, to
win her back. Of course, things don’t always go as planned and Jeff ends up on
the show…sans Tanya. He’s about to jump ship from the cast when Jeff realizes
an interesting opportunity: why not write his dissertation based off his
experiences on the show? Determined to disprove that reality shows are in fact
real, he sticks it out (somehow) and becomes widely popular with the producers,
cast members, (and most importantly, the viewing public!) for being so “real” himself.
In the midst of his research, however, Jeff meets Jenny, a cute
behind-the-scenes staff member at the show who he inadvertently gets close to
by avoiding his other cast members. What transpires is reality TV becoming
fused with real life—Jeff offers his CD mix tape (kinda like offering a rose on
“The Bachelor”) to Jenny, getting her involved in the show—something she never
wanted. So…Will Jeff win her back? Will Jenny agree to go on the show to be
with Jeff? And is love still love if it’s all being filmed?
Though the focus is certainly on Jeff and Jenny’s love
story, the characters on the show all have their own love interests and sub
plots. Promiscuous Megan gets involved with Christian (aptly named as he is
BFFs with JC), who also has a romantic detour with the too-intense red headed
school teacher Samantha (who originally was spending all her time with meat
head-ish Dominic). There’s also the host Byron who wants producer Nina… Oh and
there’s Jenny’s roommate, the reality obsessed, bats for the other team, blue
onesie wearing Evan.
These characters, though all massive stereotypes, are as addictive
as the crazy ones we see on TV—sort of ridiculous, but mostly, kinda fun. Adam
Kantor is great as Jeff, the attractive every-scholar, and has great pipes—(I
kept thinking to myself that Kantor sounds exactly like Mark from “Rent,” and
wasn’t surprised to learn that he played him in the last national tour…right
out of his undergrad…lucky). Jenni Barber plays Jenny—and she’s just the right
brand of sweet, unassuming, cute dork that makes her character a perfect match
for Jeff. Heath Calvert is the over-the-top Byron, host of “Nobody Loves
You”—again, also perfectly cast to parody all the cookie cutter hosts on all
the cookie cutter reality series’ of the day. The other cast members are good—Lauren
Molina’s Megan has a particularly memorable silly/sexy dance in a makeshift hot
tub during a duet with Kelsey Kurz’s Christian to “Come On In.” And Jenny’s
roommate Evan, played by Alex Brightman (also Dominic/Chazz) got big laughs…for
(of all things) a song about Twitter.
A song about the latest tech craze (and a whole musical
based on today’s most popular TV genre) could only come from the under 40
generation, and duo Itamar Moses (book and lyrics) and Gaby Alter (music and
lyrics) who grew up in Berkeley together, are behind that. Moses particularly
was interested in what causes seemingly rational reality show contestants to
surrender their grip and start believing they're actually in love with someone
they've known for only a few hours or days. He tells Pam Kragen of the North
County Times that he “…thinks it has something to do with the heightened reality
of the setting—candles, hot tubs, alcohol and willing partners…and the
competitive nature of the shows themselves.”
A recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New American Plays
Award, “Nobody” had its first reading in Cape Cod in 2008 and has gone through
four more drafts since then, including a workshop reading last year in
Connecticut. The version Globe audiences will witness has changed substantially
and has been aided by good direction with a clear vision. Director Michelle
Tattenbaum (“Love/Stories,” “The Four of Us,” “Firefly”) has said that not only
does she resonate with the ideas presented (trying to live your life and find
connection with others) but that working with Moses has made for quite a few
laughs as she really gets his sense of humor. She also made some skilled
editing decisions; apparently she nixed the idea of having real televisions or
videos onstage as she felt people would be drawn to them, on or off.
Additionally, she has credited choreographer Mandy Moore (“So You Think You Can
Dance,” “American Idol,” and “Dancing with the Stars”) for taking every idea
she had and doing it “10 times better.”
“Nobody Loves You” is still in its infancy and thus, is not
a perfect show—let’s start with an intermission, people?!—but, it’s a fun one.
Particularly, it’s a good show for someone who wants to be eased into theater,
musicals especially, showing the 20-something that there’s something out there
that’s not as monotonous as “Cats” or “Phantom.” (That’s right Andrew Lloyd
Webber, I’ve accused you of boring my generation.) The teens and twenties will definitely
connect with the action and laugh easily at the predictable one liners and
absurd situations.
And for the full fledged, card carrying, regular
patron—well, just like some are attracted to “Kardashians” and others “Top
Chef”—it’s worth a gander to see if “Nobody Loves You” is your brand of “reality”
entertainment.
“Nobody Loves You”
5/9-6/16
The Old Globe
Sheryl and Harvey
White Theatre
1363 Old Globe Way
San Diego, CA 92101-1696
San Diego, CA 92101-1696
(619) 231-1941
www.oldglobe.org
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