MARSHALL–A humble, simple to stage, sweet little human drama that tugs at the heart strings is exactly the kind of fare the Great Escape Stage Company loves to produce. It seems The Story of My Life, the
Sondheim-inspired mostly sung-through 2009 musical that follows a lifelong friendship between men would hit their sweet spot.

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In many ways it does.

Director Debbie Culver’s vision for this sentimental tale is beautifully suited to the intimate space of the theatre, and the design team creates a visually appealing setting in which the actors can play and imagine.

The set, by Artistic Director Randy Lake who also plays Thomas, is a completely white wall of bookcases and cubbies, a white table, and a few steps that represents the dream space of memory. Culver’s blocking makes the most of the tight space, and Graham Rowe-Bultinck’s lights enhance the overall concept by featuring white flickering fairy lights, and a few little shifts for mood with nothing terribly dramatic beyond that.

In fact, there’s nothing terribly dramatic in this script until the last third during which a conflict and resolution emerge almost out of nowhere. This is likely a contributing factor as to why the 90-minutes of 18
five-minute songs feels twice as long as it is. Though another factor is the most significant drama in this show is whether or not Alan Elliott as Alvin Kelby will remember his next line. Lake helps with dropped lines where he can, but by the end of the show Elliot, who is a warm and goofy Alvin with some emotional depth, is on book.

It’s an unfortunate distraction in an otherwise hard-working and well-meaning production. Lake gives a heartfelt and nuanced performance as Thomas, the small-town kid who leaves and makes it big as a writer who pens tales of his childhood with Alvin, the motherless child who inherits his father’s bookstore and never leaves home. He’s in great possession of this character as well as the script and music.

Lake has a lovely voice and strong vibrato well suited to the pretty if repetitive music. Musical Director Elena Solero performs all the accompaniment on piano and her timing is exceptional, which is particularly
impressive when lyrics and lines are fudged or dropped.

The show opens with Thomas struggling to pen the eulogy for his old friend, who, either jumped or fell from the bridge where they used to play as boys. Their mutual love of Frank Capra’s film “It’s a Wonderful Life” makes this fact all the more poignant, as Alvin is a kind of George Bailey who never got to leave Bedford Falls and during his dark night of the soul receives graces from Clarence, the angel trying to earn his wings.

Mixed metaphors abound from there, with lines and images from the movie dropped in throughout the play with an even heavier does of snow angels and butterflies. The two men sing their way through the chronology of mostly ordinary moments of their friendship, including encounters with teachers,
bugs, bullies, books, and snow, and ending with Alvin’s death and Thomas’s insights about Alvin’s profound influence on him and his writing.

“Years are like snowflakes that pass in the blink of an eye” and “You’ve changed the world with everything you do” are among the unfortunate clichés that pack the script.

And yet, despite its many shortcomings, by the end of this show, Lake’s tearful revelations do tug a little bit at the heart strings. Perhaps this speaks to the powerful need we have to be told a story of men’s friendship
that reveals their genuine vulnerabilities and abiding love for one another.

But this particular version needs work.

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