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Blues in the Night

987-D Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Solana Beach, 92075
Cost: $57 - $68

Yvette Freeman Hartley’s director’s note tells us that this musical revue sings “the tale of three women and one man’s broken love life while living in a cheap Chicago hotel in 1938.” And there are nods in that direction: Anise Ritchie’s Lady from the Road pauses in her perusal of her scrapbook to let us know that Ciarra Stroud’s Girl with a Date has a broken heart and is looking to mend it with new love, and that Karole Foreman’s Woman of the World used to be a big deal, but now it’s just cheap wine from a fancy decanter. But Elijah Rock’s Man in the Saloon remains something of an enigma —and come to think of it, he doesn’t seem all that blue.

Actually once the songs start in, neither do the girls — Lady from the Road takes a happy, naughty stroll down memory lane with “Take Me for a Buggy Ride,” Girl with a Date is excitedly “Taking a Chance on Love,” and even Woman of the World dreamily recalls “Stompin’ at the Savoy.” Those are good songs, and they’re sung by good, distinctive singers. But they’re nobody’s idea of blues. Really, there’s a lot more sex than sadness in the lyrics — “Kitchen Man” very nearly cuts its double entendres to singles with lines like “Oh how that boy can open clams, no one else can baste my hams” —especially in the first act.

It’s a fine performance, but after a while, you might start to wish for more of a narrative through-line. You’ve got a man up there on stage —why not use him to give those ladies a right to sing the blues? Yes, they do sing that one: act two is a little heavier on the suffering and sorrow, but only a little. Director Hartley’s note goes on to assure you that Blues in the Night “will take you on a bouncing, soulful buggy ride through love that will help wipe away any blues you may have,” and that’s probably a better description of what’s going on here. It’s a feel-good show, not a feel-bad one.

When

Ongoing until Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Hours

Sundays, 2pm & 7pm
Wednesdays, 7pm
Thursdays, 8pm
Fridays, 8pm
Saturdays, 2pm & 8pm
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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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