Weill fans will have no difficulty remembering that City Center Encores! planned a production of Love Life in March 2020 (see our coverage of the development of that production). Nor will they have forgotten that all seven performances were unceremoniously canceled just a week ahead of time.
It will be a while before live performance resumes in New York City. But City Center has inaugurated a new video series, "Inside the Revival." Each episode goes behind the scenes of a specific production to let audiences hear from the artists involved and give us glimpses of rehearsals and preparations. The Love Life episode debuts on 24 February and is available for free streaming thereafter. Love Life is the third of the series, after The Tap Dance Kid and The Life.
The 13-minute mini-documentary features conversations with director Victoria Clark, music director Rob Berman, and former artistic director Jack Viertel to give us a sense of how they planned to handle Weill and Alan Jay Lerner's often cited but rarely seen 1948 vaudeville musical. The film also includes several performances captured at rehearsals and press events:
If that's not enough music for you, several other songs are woven into the soundtrack as underscoring with Rob Berman himself at the piano: "Green-Up Time," "Here I’ll Stay," "I'm Your Man," and the beginning of the sprawling number that closes the show, "The Illusion Vaudeville Show," originally known as "The Illusion Minstrel Show."
Generally acknowledged as one of the prime progenitors of the concept musical brought to fruition by the likes of Harold Prince, Stephen Sondheim, Kander and Ebb, and others, Love Life occupies a special place in Broadway history. (See the Foundation's virtual guide to this essential show.) "Inside the Revival" provides the lowdown on City Center's efforts to put on the show, with insights direct from the creative team and performances from a breathtaking cast. A must-see.
Originally posted: 28 January 2021
Last updated: 24 February 2021