Love story is indeed sad but, as Kavanaugh’s production suggests at both the beginning and the end, there is nothing else to say about it. Which begs the question: why was it made into a stage show in the first place?
What’s there to say about a young girl who died? This musical adaptation of screenplay and best-selling novel, Love Story, poses this question at the beginning of the evening – but rather fails to answer it. We are presented with a terribly sad tale, but not a stage-worthy one – as another writer once said, it is tragic but not a tragedy.
Emma Williams in the lead role – Jenny – is by turns feisty and tender, and sometimes both. She delivers the witty lines deftly and communicates her character’s intelligence.Michael Xavier as her husband Oliver is endearingly arrogant – and his adoration of Jenny is palpable. He goes from nought to marriage proposal in a matter of minutes but, nevertheless, Xavier makes Oliver’s love believable. The third principle character is Jenny’s father, Phil – played by Peter Polycarpou. Although veering a touch towards caricature, Polycarpou brings a spark to each scene he’s in and his timing is spot on. On the pair’s wedding day, he takes Oliver to one side saying: “If she thinks she’s right…” he pauses and glances at his daughter before concluding “I’d give in.”
The singing is solid throughout Rachel Kavanaugh’s production –Howard Goodall’s music gives Williams plenty of opportunity to show off the range of her voice. The two best songs of the evening were both hers – the bright, light-hearted pasta song (in which spaghetti is rhymed with Donizetti) and a song in which she imagines the music she’ll play to her future children.
Stephen Ridley, directing the music from the piano, plays with real musicality and energy – bringing out the best in his small ensemble, despite Howard Goodall’s largely bland, unadventurous music.
But there’s no escaping the fact that Love Story does not belong on stage – and certainly not this one. The Duchess Theater feels too big for such a small-scale, modest tale. And although the story is – there is no doubt about it – terrible and incredibly sad, that in itself is not enough for a piece of theater. A tragedy might awaken you to emotions you’ve never experienced or infuriate by pointing out the futility and hopelessness of human endeavor. But it can’t just be a sad story – there’s enough of that in the real world.
The true love is the most beautiful things in the world，wish your love story has a happy ending！
