Theatre in Review: Platinum Dreams (The York Theatre/The Theatre at St. Jean)Platinum Dreams is part of York's New2NY series of debut works but, thanks to its long and checkered history, it could be part of the company's Musicals in Mufti series, which focuses on also-rans from the past. Indeed, calling it a new show is something of a stretch: Following a tryout at a Buffalo theatre, under the title Sunset, with a book by Louis LaRusso II and Tommy Tune as director, it came to Broadway in 1978 as Platinum, starring Alexis Smith. To say the least, the reviews were mixed -- Walter Kerr had some especially salty things to say -- and it expired after 33 performances. In 1983, Will Holt, who had co-written the book with Bruce Vilanch, reworked it, returning to the title Sunset; with a reduced (from thirteen) cast of four, including Tammy Grimes and Ronee Blakley, it played a single performance at the Village Gate. Another revision was announced for the 2010 New York International Fringe Festival where it garnered little notice. Now comes yet another reworking, Platinum Dreams, with a new book by Stevie Holland and score by the original Platinum team: Gary William Friedman (music) and Holt (lyrics). Well, you can't say they haven't tried. But if what is happening onstage at Theatre at St. Jean is the fruit of all this retooling, it might be time to file it away. Set in the late 1970s, it focuses on Lila Halliday, a Hollywood diva in the 1940s, her career faded into a string of regional theatre gigs. (No! Not regional theatre!). She aims to make a comeback with a pop album but struggles to find a style that trades on her past glamour while sounding contemporary. Enter Dan Hardin, a rock star looking for a new image; he is also a major Lila Halliday fan from his sad childhood. Not only does he currently live in her old mansion but when an auction house puts on sale an iconic dress from one of her films, he is the top bidder. Apparently, he thinks it can help him restyle himself as a glam rocker-- as if dressing like, say, Rita Hayworth could make you the new David Bowie. This last point is a giant red flag pointing to the lack of reality that pervades Holland's book. In Platinum, Dan was a heavy metal rocker whose career was on the slide; he and Lila had a fling that somehow benefited them both; also in the mix was Lisa Mordente (daughter of Chita Rivera) as a rising star. Platinum Dreams refashions the story into a bisexual triangle: Lila still sleeps with Dan, but it's awkward because he is the ex-lover (and former songwriting partner) of Jamie Stiles, a record producer who owns the studio where Lila is cutting her album. I don't know why I'm telling you all this because nothing happens; the book consists of the thinnest possible connecting tissue between the songs and the dialogue is often pretty dire. Jamie, in a moment of aggravation, snaps, "I'm not carrying your bags like some little golf caddy." Dan, leering, replies, "You always knew how to handle my iron." (Humor-wise, this is known as being under par.) The characters are little more than blurs, although, thanks to director Joseph Hayward's cast, they are attractive blurs. Dan is played by Conor Ryan who always seems one really good role away from stardom; it's not his fault that the show offers no clue to Dan's personality or musical style. (Is he another Peter Frampton? A Sonny Bono? A Bobby Sherman? Who can tell?) A subplot about him getting a network variety special -- really? In 1977? -- makes no sense. As Jamie, the vocally gifted Jovan E'Sean is left to stand around, looking put out because his ex-boyfriend is running around with a middle-aged woman. Holland is a fine cabaret performer and a sunny presence but it would be nice if she had given herself a character to play. What we're left with is a song cycle (with a few new additions by Holland and Holt) vaguely tethered to a barely-there dramatic situation. Some are quite pleasant, especially the opener/closer "Back to the Beat," which has a nice Burt Bacharach/Marvin Hamlisch bounce. E'Sean does very well with a ballad titled "Love Can't Walk Away." And one can imagine the young Dionne Warwick bopping her way through the jaunty, cynical "Being on Sunset." But the numbers don't take us anywhere because there's nowhere to go. Even in the limited circumstances of the NY2Now series, Hayward's designers deliver a slick production. Ryan Marsh's lighting provides lovely color washes, Peter Brucker's projections present the LA skyline in all its nighttime glory, and Sean Hagerty's sound design is pleasingly crisp. But it is time someone gently informs its creators that this is the end of the line. After multiple revisions across nearly five decades, their Platinum Dreams are no closer to fulfillment. --David Barbour 
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