Reinvented by director Marianne Elliott, the Steven Sondheim musical features a female lead – Bobbie – who’s trying to avoid the landmines of relationships as she turns 35.
At one point, Elliott imagines several Bobbies going through the paces and the concept is so smart it immediately fills in some gaps in George Furth’s book. Christopher Sieber and Jennifer Simard get to goose the laughs ; Elder manages to squeeze smiles out of lines that would have seemed dated coming out of a woman’s mouth. He’s a fine comedian, letting his time in the revolving door resonate a bit more than everyone else’s.
Conversely, LuPone doesn’t need much more than a cocktail to help sell “The Ladies Who Lunch.” She drinks in the lyrics and spills out a life lesson. Lenk must be thrilled to have the best seat in the house eight times a week.