In “They’re Playing Our Song” now at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts, Carson Eubank and Ashlee Waldbauer command the stage with a dynamic energy that transports the audience into the heart of the comedic journey. Eubank’s portrayal of Vernon Gersch, a wisecracking composer in search of a new lyricist, is solid, and his piano playing is so authentic that you’d swear he’s actually at the keys (which he proved he could really do at the Stafford County Business reception held at The Riverside on Wednesday, April 24, 2024).
Meanwhile, Waldbauer’s portrayal of Sonia Walsk, who experienced early songwriting success and is and is in awe of Gersch’s accomplishments, exudes energy, pulling the audience right into the passenger seat of his car on the dramatic drive out to Long Island and on to her moving rendition of “I Still Believe in Love,” (with which Waldbauer also wooed the crowd during an impromptu performance at the business reception).
Vernon and Sonia, have their own storied history, drawing inspiration from the real-life relationship between Marvin Hamlisch, an American composer, and conductor, and one of the few to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony award, and Carole Bayer Sager, who wrote the chart-topping hit, “A Groovy Kind of Love,’ while still at New York City’s High School of Music and Art. Eubank shared insights into the play’s semi-biographical nature, revealing how Neil Simon dramatized the anecdotes shared by Hamlisch about his collaboration with Sager.
Eubank and Waldbauer discussed the unique challenges and rewards of carrying a two-person show. Waldbauer emphasized the intense focus required to keep the performance on track, highlighting the trust and camaraderie she shares with Eubank. Eubank humorously acknowledged Waldbauer as a superior acting partner to Tom Hanks’ volleyball in “Castaway.”
“I think we’ve had multiple conversations about how this is easily the hardest show we have ever done, but it’s also been the most rewarding at the same time. We describe the show as ‘a train that you got to make sure that you are on it and focused 24/7,’ because once you fall off, there is no getting back on. But thankfully, Carson and I have built such a trust with one another that we know that if something goes wrong or if there’s a line flub, we’ve got each other. And that’s been really, really fun to build with one another in this rehearsal process,” said Waldbauer.
“The play is semi-biographical about the two of them, but it’s not Marvin and Carol. It’s Vernon and so on. So they changed the names. And it’s interesting little quick backstory about how the play was written. Marvin Hamish and Neil Simon lived in the same building in New York. And Marvin would tell these stories to Neil about this girl, Carol, that he’s working with and all these idiosyncrasy democracies of hers. And Neil would just laugh and laugh and say, you really got to write this stuff down. But then, one day, Neil came and left a little manuscript on Marvin’s doorstep that had been all of the stories, and Neil had written them down and created this draft of a play. And as Neil tells it, he took the events of what Marvin described and then dramatized them a little bit. So yes, it’s semi-autobiographical about the two of them, but not fully,” explained Carson. “I think it hits all the right notes in terms of it’s got the comedy, so it’s mostly just a fun evening at the theater.”
Regarding the appeal of “They’re Playing Our Song” to audiences, Eubank underscored the blend of comedy and music, with a score by Marvin Hamlisch featuring both familiar tunes and catchy up-tempo numbers. Waldbauer echoed the sentiment, emphasizing the show’s ability to entertain and engage audiences with its comedic elements and musical prowess.
“They’re Playing Our Song” comes on the heels of Riverside’s celebrated production of “Jersey Boys,” full of singing familiar songs and dancing – the actors on stage and the audience in the seats. Eubank and Waldbauer praised the theater’s commitment to bringing diverse and quality productions to the community.
“When we build a season, we’re always trying to think about, first of all, what our audiences know that they want. They want “Jersey Boys,” they want “Beautiful,” which we’re doing later in the season. But I think by doing those shows, you earn their trust and you earn their respect for what you’re doing and knowing that whatever we produce here is a quality and they enjoy everything they see,” said Carson, who is also the newly named Associate Producing Artistic Director/Music Supervisor of Riverside Center.
“And as a New York-based actress, I love coming back to this theater. I mean, it’s my third time coming back, and every time, they just reel me in with a juicy little roll,” added Waldbauer. “I’ve just been so grateful for the relationship relationships and the people here are just awesome.”
The show runs now through May 12, 2024, at the Riverside Center for the Performing Arts, 95 Riverside Parkway in Stafford County. You can purchase tickets online.
