(Posted November 3, 2004)

DONELSON, Tenn. –  Who would think they could see a promising new musical at a senior citizens' center?

It may be surprising, but not inappropriate. A musical doesn't need a traditional theatrical location as much as it needs strong tunes and lyrics that propel an entertaining story.

Could It Be Love?, in its premiere at the Senior Center For the Arts, has the strength to go beyond its initial production. The show needs some trimming, but only because it's too long, not because any elements fail.

Kaine Riggan's book, music and lyrics focus on a group of seniors at a center in North Carolina as they prepare to launch a production of Grease. Imagine TV's Golden Girls transported to the South, and you've got a good idea about the women who form the core of the group we encounter there.

Mabel Dubois (Jeannie Seely) is a former star at the Charlotte Repertory Theatre and First Lady of Louisiana with a pointed tongue and a penchant for scandalous behavior; Eve Harris (Helen Cornelius) is a widowed, God-fearing Christian lady who seems to be Mabel's polar opposite; Inez Inscoe (Kay Gobbell) is the busy-body who always figures her way is best; and Judy Johnson (Layne Sasser) is a loveable but somewhat ditzy figure.

Add the center's beleagured director, Abby Cox (Pat Rulon), her bereaved father Steven Short (Gordon Dillingham) and his friend Lloyd Harris (Dennis Nelson) to the mix, sprinkle in former hippies Ed (Bill Dorian) and Clyde (Tom Dolan) as well as Inez's long-suffering husband Hubert (Ed Human), and top it off with some clowns. It's a large, colorful cast of characters befitting a Southern-style musical comedy.

Riggan has given his cast plenty of snappy one-liners and comebacks to keep the laughter going. The humor, which is often age-specific, gets going early with exchanges like the following:

Judy: You ran one of those personal ads, Mabel, what did yours say?

Mabel: Mint condition, purrs like a kitten, tight chassis with a couple of new parts.

Inez: Did you leave out the part about the high mileage?

Mabel: How are those airbags in your front seat doing, Inez?

That doesn't mean it's all for laughs, though. Riggan has provided poignant backstories to his characters, and such subjects as substance abuse, infidelity and spousal abuse are broached in the show.  He's done a good job of interweaving the pain with the pleasure, though, so that we never feel that Could It Be Love? is too flippant or too morose about such issues.

The music, which is played with appropriate nuance by a quartet led by Vance Nichols, does a good job of maintaining or shifting moods as the story warrants. A country music flavor threads through the songs, but that's not to say the score has no variety. It has it in abundance.

There are upbeat numbers like the ensemble opening, Put on a Show and a Smile; comic musical moments like Abby's statement of professional frustration, I Gotta Get Out of Here; character songs like Eve's autobiographical ballad There's a Rose Pressed in My Bible; the title tune, Could It Be Love?, which is a declaration of Steven and Eve's growing feelings for each other; and the uplifting cast finale, Love Lessons Learned.

Riggan's lyrics often tug sweetly at the heartstrings, as evidenced by some lines from the show's title song:

Steven: I can't promise her tomorrow

Eve: I've lost the charms that used to be

Steven: Who am I kidding?

Eve: I don't even know

Both: Why in the world would he/she want me?

His well-written songs also have the advantage of being sung by some top-flight performers. Seely, a Grammy Award-winning star, and Cornelius, a Country Music Association Award winner, bring their talents and years of experience to each number. That's also true of others in the cast, most notably Dillingham, whose easy-going delivery and smooth voice is always a delight to hear.

Much of the cast are Nashville-based actors who acquit themselves well when the music is silent, too. Rulon, Sasser, Dolan and Dorian handle their roles with aplomb; Gobbell and Human are a comic team with perfect timing; and Arita Trahan's cameo as an old rival of Mabel's is a real hoot.

Yes, there's an abundance of small-town-tinted riches in Could It Be Love?, which should have legs after it closes here (in fact, there are possible productions in Greeneville, Tenn., and Henderson, N.C., coming up next year among other possibilities). If there's any problem with this work-in-progress, it's that abundance, since the show in its present form runs over three hours.

Riggan's story could jettison some of the comic scenes – one involving Inez and Hubert in the second act is funny, but completely stops the show in its narrative tracks – and repeated situations – there are two scenes involving Ed and Clyde getting chemically altered where one would do for humor and character development. His show could run about two hours and still retain its fun, sweetness and entertainment value.

Riggan seems open to such changes, though, even tinkering with the show during its initial run. With some refinement, Could It Be Love? could be part of the theater circuit for a long time to come.

Could It Be Love? ended its run at The Senior Center For the Arts (108 Donelson Pike) on Nov. 4.