Written by Robert Sternin and Prudence Fraser (Montecito-based sitcom writers of The Nanny, and other TV hits), Somebody to Love, in its premiere run at the Rubicon Theatre Company, is a jukebox musical featuring favorite tunes from the 1970s and ’80s. The show proved to be a crowd-pleaser, even garnering a standing ovation from an audience basking in the glow of nostalgia. Unfortunately, while nostalgia for a certain era is a valid emotional place from which to build a story, it isn’t universal. More mixtape than musical, Somebody to Love proves that a stacked soundtrack of era anthems cannot make up for the haphazard convenience of surface-level storytelling.
Somebody to Love follows four friends who go their separate ways after college. Cynthia, an N.Y.C. dancer turned suburban mom, is married to Joe, a classical musician turned high school band teacher. Their friend Gerianne is a justice-warrior attorney and up-and-coming political figure, and Nick Gallagher (also Cynthia’s ex) is a washed-up rock star. In terms of narrative, the tail wags the dog in that the plot serves, foremost, to build context for the chosen songs (rather than the songs themselves filling in details and illuminating motive, as they do in a traditional musical structure). We get precursory, CliffsNotes explanations of these characters’ lives, never delving into emotional depth.
Left to Right) Back Row: JESSE GRAHAM, DONOVAN MENDELOVITZ, & DESMOND NEWSON; Front Row: KAYLA CHRISTINE QUIROZ & MOLLY KIRSCHENBAUM star in SOMEBODY TO LOVE | Photo: Lore Photography 
Left to Right) RUSTIN COLE SAILORS, DONOVAN MENDELOVITZ, and SOPHIA ALAWAI star in SOMEBODY TO LOVE | Photo: Lore Photography 
(Left to Right) MOLLY KIRSCHENBAUM, SOPHIA ALAWAI, GIZEL JIMÉNEZ, DESMOND NEWSON, and MEA WILKERSON star in SOMEBODY TO LOVE | Photo: Lore Photography 
(Left to Right) RUSTIN COLE SAILORS, SOPHIA ALAWAI, DONOVAN MENDELOVITZ, and GIZEL JIMÉNEZ star in SOMEBODY TO LOVE | Photo: Lore Photography 
(Left to Right) ALEXIS SEMEVOLOS-VELAZQUEZ, GIZEL JIMÉNEZ, MOLLY KIRSCHENBAUM, SOPHIA ALAWAI and DONOVAN MENDELOVITZ star in SOMEBODY TO LOVE, a World Premiere ‘70s rock musical. | Photo: Lore Photography 
(Left to Right) DONOVAN MENDELOVITZ and GIZEL JIMÉNEZ star in SOMEBODY TO LOVE | Photo: Lore Photography 
ALEXIS SEMEVOLOS-VELAZQUEZ and GIZEL JIMÉNEZ star in SOMEBODY TO LOVE | Photo: Lore Photography 
From left, ALEXIS SEMEVOLOS-VELAZQUEZ, DONOVAN MENDELOVITZ, MOLLY KIRSCHENBAUM, MEA WILKERSON, RUSTIN COLE SAILORS, PRESLEY NICHOLSON, JOHN GREGORIO, and JESSE GRAHAM star in SOMEBODY TO LOVE | Photo: Lore Photography
The tentpole that supports this array of experiences is Gallagher, a flimsy, rehab rockstar who functions as a ghost haunting his own life. It feels like a sitcom, but not a “very special” episode — instead, it’s the “last time on” recap before an episode with actual character development.
And yet, the standing ovation speaks for itself. If you’re looking for complex storytelling with a pulse in real-world emotionality, this is not it. If you’re looking for a VH1-style revue of songs from 1975 to 1985, Somebody to Love might be for you. The show runs through April 19 at the Rubicon Theatre in Ventura.
See rubicontheatre.org/events/somebody-to-love-musical.
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