By Celia Wren
Special to The Washington Post
Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Radio stations are switching to all-carol formats and theaters are prepping their Scrooges, but at Alexandria's MetroStage these days, the mind-set is strictly Feb. 14.

In "Isn't It Romantic?," the ho-hum revue that is the company's latest offering, singers Jimi Ray Malary and Lori Williams trot out classic love-themed songs by Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hart, and the Gershwin brothers. Staged simply as a chat-laced concert, with barely a nod toward dramatic values, this Cupid-worshiping songfest will bore the dickens out of anyone who goes to the theater hoping for, well, theater. On the other hand, audiences willing to be lulled by 75 minutes of standards -- "Someone to Watch Over Me," "My Funny Valentine" and many other usual suspects -- will find the production pleasant, if not terribly dynamic.

Written and directed by David Hunter Koch -- whose "Ellington: The Life and Music of the Duke" and "King of Cool: The Life and Music of Nat King Cole" have also been crooned at MetroStage (both starring Malary) -- "Isn't It Romantic?" woos its listeners from an uncluttered art deco set, framed overhead by paintings of dancers in mid-waltz. (The scenery is based on Susannah M. Barnes's designs for the show's premiere, at Milwaukee Repertory Theater.)

Dressed in soft-gray evening attire, Malary and Williams lilt their songs at the front of the stage, while bassist Yusef Chisholm, drummer Greg Holloway and pianist/conductor (and music director) William Knowles whip up jazzy accompaniments behind them. In between musical numbers, Malary supplies perfunctory narration tracing the stages of a garden-variety romance -- from head-over-heels intoxication, through cozy familiarity, friendly bickering, weary disenchantment and -- in time for a curtain call -- passion rekindled.

Despite quoting the occasional choice aphorism, such as Mark Twain's remark that "to get the full value of a joy, you must have somebody to divide it with," the spoken commentary remains abstract and impersonal -- the bewitched, bothered and bewildered sweethearts the script evokes have no names, and as portrayed by Malary and Williams, they have no discernible personalities.

That generic quality is one of the factors contributing to the production's somewhat prefabricated aura. Whereas MetroStage's glorified cabarets "Bricktop" and "Cookin' at the Cookery: The Music and Times of Alberta Hunter," for instance, drew focus and a certain amount of spiciness from their historical subjects, "Isn't It Romantic?" feels both vague and boilerplate.

As cursory as his writing, Koch's direction misses numerous opportunities to mine the songs' storytelling potential and emotional immediacy. A lone exception is the droll stage business that spruces up a rendering of the Gershwins' "Treat Me Rough": Playing a barhopping Lothario on the rebound, Malary ducks briefly offstage and returns in a leather jacket and cool frames. "A round of fuzzy navels for everyone in the house!" he proclaims.

The production's target audience is presumably more interested in the singing than the theatricality, of course, and the music in "Isn't It Romantic?" qualifies at least for a s'awful-nice ranking, if not a s'wonderful one. Malary's laid-back vibrato style can be a little monotonous, but the atmosphere lights up when Williams lets fly with her ringing vocals, and the band is in fine fettle. ("Isn't It Romantic?" made its debut in Milwaukee as a solo vehicle for Malary; Koch subsequently wrote in a role for Williams, seen a few years ago in MetroStage's "All Night Strut.")

Given the overall tunefulness, and the material's golden-oldie quotient, it's a safe bet that this production will have its fans. To misquote the Gershwins: The Rockies may tumble, but the revue format -- like love -- is here to stay.

Isn't It Romantic?, written and directed by David Hunter Koch. Music direction and arrangements, William Knowles; sound engineer, Steve Baena; lighting design, Jessica Lee Winfield. 75 minutes. Through Dec. 21 at MetroStage, 1201 N. Royal St., Alexandria. Call 703-548-9044 or 800-494-8497 or visit http://www.metrostage.org.