Went to the UCLA Freud Playhouse tonight to catch the Reprise! production of "City of Angels."
Since 1997 Reprise! has presented basic-staging versions of old musicals. It's a great opportunity to see musicals that aren't often staged anymore.
"City of Angels" opened on Broadway on December 11, 1989 and went on to win the 1990 Best Musical Tony. I saw it in 1991 at the Shubert Theater in Century City. (That theater has since been torn down.)
This marks the first time I've seen a musical when it first came out and now I've been around long enough to see its revival.
Other than remembering I'd seen it, I couldn't remember anything about the production 15 years ago. And tonight I now know why. The show is completely forgettable (literally).
The music is by Cy Coleman, the book by Larry Gelbart and lyrics by David Zippel.
It's set in Los Angeles in the 40s and is about a novelist who is turning his Raymond Chandler-esque detective novel into a screenplay. So there's a movie within a story within a musical.
But tonight I didn't find it very funny nor did I particularly like the music -- so if they bring it back in another 15 years hopefully I'll remember to skip it.
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