Dobama spins a delicate coming-of-age tale in world premiere

musical ‘33 1/3’

 

Bob Abelman

Cleveland Jewish News, The News Herald, The Morning Journal

 

In Noël Coward’s 1930 comedy of manners “Private Lives,” music plays a crucial role when the brilliant dialogue cannot carry all the emotional weight of the storytelling.  So much so that one of the characters casually remarks: “Extraordinary how potent cheap music is.”

 

This sentiment drives Jay Turvey and Paul Sportelli’s new musical “33 1/3,” which re-imagines the jukebox musical such that pop music becomes the subject matter and not the accompanying score.  And it does so with endearing sentimentality, a subtle sense of humor, and a remarkable delicacy that draws the audience into its nostalgic world and keeps us there in a gentle embrace.

 

For more of this review, go to:  www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/bob_abelman/