NEW YORK — If you think you've seen all the musicals about love you ever need to see, think again, because the York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's has a pleasant little surprise in store for you.
Its current off-Broadway offering, "Tomorrow Morning," is a fresh, fun and lively musical about love anticipated and love ending, as two couples approach big days in their lives.
Young John and Kat (Matthew Hydzik and Autumn Hurlbert) are sneaking in some together-time on the eve of their wedding. At the same time, a couple married 10 years, Jack and Catherine, (D.B. Bonds and Mary Mossberg) are bitterly arguing on the night before they sign their final divorce papers.
Laurence Mark Wythe wrote the book, music and lyrics, which alternately focus between the two couples and gradually reveal their relationship. The energetic show is heavy on singing, with songs and dialogue well-thought out and nicely performed by the talented cast.
Wythe cleverly intertwines the same themes and lyrics for both couples with different shades of meaning, as when the ensemble sings the catchy first song, "Everything Changes." The starry-eyed youngsters wonder what their lives will be like together, and the angry, regretful older couple faces the end of their marriage and their new, uncertain, separate lives.
The couples are well-matched in believable chemistry, with the actors giving some depth to what could otherwise be stereotypical characters. Hydzik and Hurlbert are charming and funny together, especially when John and Kat jokingly plan their wedding dances, or can't seem to get enough of one another.
Bonds and Mossberg are equally affecting in their more mature roles, depicting the impatience and anger that disappointed love can produce. Mossberg adds a layer of vulnerability to her portrayal, and her lovely, powerful voice is perfectly showcased in the contemplative ballad, "Self Portrait."
Director Tom Mullen keeps the action going smoothly, as both couples are often onstage simultaneously. The songs are varied, with upbeat tunes interspersed with introspective numbers like "Look What We Made," sung by Jack and John. The four-piece orchestra, led by musical director John Bell, provides a rich sound, although sometimes the music almost overpowers the singers.
The white-on-white living room set, designed by Dan P. Conley, smoothly varies the locations without interrupting the action.
With "Tomorrow Morning," Wythe has struck a winning balance between the wishful sentimentality of young love and the animosity and regrets of a failing marriage.
The show runs through April 23.
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