San Diego Reader

"C'mon, gang, let's do a show about making a show!" Now usually that kind of talk's a recipe for, if not disaster, then at least boredom. Not so Jeff Bowen (music and lyrics) and Hunter Bell's (book) 90-minute charmer about the creative process and its discontents. They have three weeks to produce a musical. They do, and it exceeds their dreams (as did the original, which went to Broadway). They find humor in unpromising subjects (an "awkward photo shoot"; filling out an entry form). They sing catchy, seemingly improvised songs. And in ways more sophisticated than their humble four-chairs-and-a-piano staging suggests, they become Pirandellian: young, gay performers in search of a musical. Director James Vasquez has an obvious love for the material. As do pianist-musical director Tim McKnight and deft lighting designer Karen Filijan. And the cast shines: Heather Paton; Craig Noel Award-winners Tony Houck and Karson St. John; and local favorite Tom Zohar, in what may be his final performance in San Diego for some time, since New York beckons.

July 10 through August 8