Saturday, May 26, 2012

NOBODY LOVES YOU @ THE OLD GLOBE THEATRE


“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
(619) 231-1941
www.oldglobe.org


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