Musical numbers lifted up in "Babes in Arms."

By Jeff Favre

Take a dozen high-spirited kids longing to be actors, place them in a rustic barn, and what do you get?You get the “let’s put on a show” storyline that quickly became a mainstay for classic Broadway shows, and for movie musicals that always seemed to star Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney.The first time Rooney and Garland “put on a show” was 1939’s “Babes in Arms,” loosely based on the Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart musical that premiered on Broadway two years earlier. Given the nearly flawless music by one of theater’s best composing teams, it’s hard to believe that the Reprise! Broadway’s Best version of “Babes in Arms,” now at the UCLA Freud Playhouse, is the first professional Los Angeles production in the show’s 76-year history. But it’s better late than never.

Despite a couple of uneven performances, the songs of Rodgers and Hart (assisted by the 1959 George Oppenheimer revision of their original book) are in good hands with director Glenn Castle, choreographer Dan Mojica and actress Jodi Benson. For two carefree hours, some of America’s best standards are delivered beautifully, accompanied by music director Gerald Sternbach and his orchestra.

The simple plot, effectively made even simpler with introductory voice-over exposition performed by Valerie Harper, involves a group of young apprentice actors working for a struggling theater in Cape Cod. The would-be stars, led by a composer named Val (Joey McIntyre), are preparing to put on a musical revue at the theater, assuming their exploitative boss, Seymour Flemming (Steve Vinovich), will let them.Flemming, unfortunately, is more interested in pleasing wealthy Phyllis Owen (Ruta Lee), who is financing a dreadful play starring her daughter, Jennifer (Jenna Leigh Green), a former child movie actress. Val is attracted to Jennifer, but he also has feelings for Susie (Bets Malone), who is in love with Val.The young performers want to put on their show to benefit the theater’s co-owner, Bunny (Benson), who has to work for Fleming because of the money her father owed him. As cliched and loaded with corny jokes as this story is, it’s merely an excuse to bridge the musical numbers, which include “Where or When,” “The Lady Is a Tramp,” “Johnny One Note” and “My Funny Valentine.”

The production’s weakest link is McIntyre, the former New Kids on the Block member. His voice was frequently shaky, particularly during the first number (the title song). And he seemed to suffer from a case of nerves, which made his performance stiff and uncomfortable. Lee, a Hollywood veteran, appeared lost during many of her lines, and she forgot her musical cue in the finale. Otherwise, the cast was solid, even if Benson (Ariel in Disney’s “The Little Mermaid”) possesses the only outstanding voice. Benson’s sassy rendition of “The Lady Is a Tramp,” and her powerful sustain in “Johnny One Note,” were the show’s highlights. Jeffrey Schecter and Beth Malone, as the forever fighting and kissing couple Gus and Terry, provide the evening’s most playful moments during the number “I Wish I Were in Love Again,” which includes a dance reminiscent of Gene Kelly’s comical choreography in “Singin’ in the Rain.”Schecter and Malone trade hugs and punches while high stepping and twirling across the stage. And neither broke stride on opening night, even when Schecter’s suspenders came undone and he had to dance with them whipping close to Malone’s body.

Mojica has designed several casual but imaginative dances, including a Western round-up with rope twirling for “Way Out West On West End Avenue,” sung by Benson. Sternbach has set a fiery pace and a lighthearted atmosphere for every scene, which allows bad jokes to whiz by while the quality musical numbers take the focus. Reprise!, which began seven seasons ago as a series of cabaret shows with minimal staging, continues to expand with each production. The wood-slat barn, designed by Evan A. Bartoletti, creates an informal mood. And the orchestra is seated in the barn’s hayloft, where it was easy for the audience to view without being distracting.

Clearly, this is a rare opportunity to see a top-quality Los Angeles production of “Babes in Arms,” and it’s one of the few chances to see Benson — who left Broadway to raise a family — in a musical. It’s easy to understand why Rodgers and Hart continue to impress audiences, and Reprise! is only increasing the composers’ legendary status.