Living On Love

Living On Love is playing at the Longacre Theatre located at 220 West 45th Street. It runs two hours fifteen minutes with one intermission. The musical is an opened show.

Joe DiPietro is the playwright. He won two Tony Awards in 2010 for “Memphis” for Best Original Score written for Theatre and Best Book for A Musical. He was nominated For a Tony Award for Best Book for a Musical for “Nice Work If You Can Get It” (2014). His first production was “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change. He wrote it with composer Jenny Roberts. It ran for twelve years (5,003 performances) off Broadway at the West Theatre.

Kathleen Marshall is the choreographer/director. She won three Tony Awards for, “Anything Goes” (2011), “The Pajama Game” (2006) and “Wonderful Town” (2004 all for choreography). Kathleen was nominated for five Tony Awards for, “Nice Work If You Can Get It” (Director 2012), “Anything Goes” (Director 2011), The Pajama Game” (Director 2006), “Wonderful Town” (2004) and “Kiss Me Kate” (2000).

Renee is an American Opera singer. She has won four Grammy Awards.

Douglas Sills was nominated for a Tony Award for in 1992 for “The Scarlett Pimpernel”.

Anna Chlumsky was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards in 2013-2014 for HBO’s “Veep”.

The place “a glorious Manhattan penthouse”, the spring of 1957.

Robert Sampson (Jerry O’Connell) is patiently waiting hours for the maestro Vito De Angelis (Douglas Sills). He is the ghost writer for Vito’s biography. The book company gave him an advance of $50,000. Robert is frustrated because he is getting little information from him. Just don’t mention Leonard Bernstein name, all hell breaks loose.

Vito wife Raquel De Angelis (Renee Fleming) is a Diva opera singer. She is just returning from a tour carrying her little dog (Trixie). She brought Vito a snow doom from where she was. It seem it’s a tradition they both bring snow dooms from were ever they have been.

Vito has second doubts about the book. He tells his wife we will return the money. She tells him she has already spent it.

Robert is a fan of Raquel. While he is alone he plays an album she had recorded. He is singing as if she is singing with all the gestures.

The publisher sends Iris Peabody (Ann Chlumsky) to get what has been written so far or the money back. Meanwhile Raquel went to the publisher behind her husband’s back to write her biography and is going to have Robert as her ghost writer. She gloats I’m getting $50,001. Vito is fuming. Iris says she will be Vito’s ghost writer.

Constantly coming out on the right are the couple butlers Bruce (Blake Hammond) and Eric Scott Robertson). They make announcements, bring things out or straightened out the living room.

Things happen, so you’ll have to see the show to find out what. If I tell you it will spoil the show.

It is a comedy. The show was good, enjoyable to watch but not great.

The scenes I did enjoy were with the two butlers played by Blake Hammond and Scott Robertson. They were delightful. I have loved to have seen more of them.

Renee sings little snippets from different operas. We get to hear what a beautiful voice she has.

It was a good show but not for me.

Review by Rozanna Radakovich.

Photos by Annazor.

To read a candid interview with the cast, scroll down to the left for recent photos. Click on recent photos for this and other shows.