Unexpected Joy

Music is the tie that binds the four characters in "Unexpected Joy," the new production at the York, and the songs are the best part of this lightweight, all-female musical.

In the 1960s, Joy was half of a popular duo, Jump and Joy, with her recently deceased husband. A flaky former hippy still wearing a suede fringe jacket, she arranges a memorial concert for Jump, and invites her estranged daughter Rachel and her teenage granddaughter Tammy, an aspiring musician. Joy's in love with Lou, a black lesbian singer who was influenced by Jump and Joy's sound. Joy plans to marry Lou the day after the memorial concert. The show, fittingly, is set in Provincetown.

Secrets abound. Joy, who'd rather be called "glam-ma" than grandma, hasn't told Rachel, a fundamentalist Christian married to a televangelist, that she's planning to marry a woman, or that Lou even exists. And rebellious Tammy hasn't let her intolerant, conservative mother in on her musical ambitions. Rachel has never forgiven her parents for their bohemian ways, for giving birth to her out of wedlock - and for naming her "Rainbow." Spewing homophobic and anti-Semitic remarks, she's determined that her daughter steer clear of glam-ma's bad influence, reinforced when Joy, having spent the night in jail, forgets to pick up Rachel and Tammy at the airport. Strong-willed Lou isn't happy to learn that Joy hasn't told Rachel about their relationship or marriage plans.

Will Rachel, who sings in her bigoted husband's congregation and has a secret of her own, overcome her resentment, and participate in the memorial concert? What will she do when she learns that her mother is marrying a woman the day after the concert? Or when she discovers that her daughter writes and performs raunchy rock songs? And how will Lou handle Joy's prolonged reluctance to tell Rachel that they're lovers, and plan to wed?

Admirably, "Unexpected Joy" considers serious issues - opposing values and lifestyle choices, the challenges of parenting, and most significantly, what constitutes acceptance - with some laughs thrown in the mix. While the appealing actors work hard to bring the characters to life, the relationships aren't entirely convincing, and the show's plotting is simple, even superficial. All is resolved tidily, in time for the feel-good finale.

Composer Janet Hood and lyricist Bill Russell's engaging score is written in a variety of genres - pop, rock, gospel, rhythm and blues, and more traditional musical theatre songs. The show alternates lively, upbeat numbers with gentle, yearning ballads. All four women in the cast are vocal powerhouses in their solos, and form an inter-generational "girl-group" in the ensemble songs. Their voices blend beautifully, backed by the onstage band: conductor Beth Falcone on piano, Brian Hamm on bass, Jack Morer on guitar, and Jeff Porter on drums.

The various ways in which the songs weave through the production is fluid and effortless. Some are performed at rehearsal for the upcoming concert, and a few flash forward to the concert itself. Tammy's solo flashes back in time to the coffee house where she got her start, and the more traditional musical theatre songs grow out of the book scenes. It's a smart, sophisticated structure.

The show lays its dramatic path early on, when Joy says, "my goal this week is to mend fences." And after various predictable confrontations, all discord is resolved. There is nothing unexpected in "Unexpected Joy." The show would benefit from more dimensional characters, a plot with surprises, dialogue that dug deeper, and lyrics more elegantly stated than "how do we go on, when we can't proceed ahead?"

Though not especially ambitious, "Unexpected Joy" finds its heart in the songs and the characters' love for music. Joy's "I Don't Want To Get Married," which she sings while relaxing in a chair rolling a joint, shows off Luba Mason's Streisand-like range; Celeste Rose belts out Tammy's tough-talking "Like a Good Girl" in a powerful wail; Lou's "She's Got a Mind of Her Own" is rousingly delivered by Allyson Kaye Daniel, and in "Raising Them Right," Courtney Balan provides a genuine moment of tenderness for a character who, too often, is harshly judgmental. When the women join forces, the songs are every bit as good. Lou and Rachel's duet, "You Are My Worst Nightmare," the three generations' "I Think I'm Losing My Voice," and the full cast songs, "What A Woman Can Do" and "Common Ground" are all satisfying. As the song titles suggest, "Unexpected Joy" is thematically consistent, even persistent, as it considers the women's' struggles and triumphs.

With sliding panels and a few pieces of furniture, Jim Morgan's simple design allows for seamless transitions from the performance stage, enhanced by Ken Willis's concert lighting, to the rehearsal room, to various interior locations. Somewhat implausibly, two living room chairs remain onstage throughout, even in the concert scenes. Matthew Pachman's costumes help define the characters, and Amy Anders Corcoran directs the production with a brisk, light touch.

"Unexpected Joy" goes down easily, with its strong melodies and satisfying vocal performances. The show's earnest plea for tolerance is well-intentioned. As Joy says, "live in the moment, and do unto others." It's not exactly an insight, but who could argue with it?

"Unexpected Joy" continues through May 27 at The York Theatre, 619 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York. For more information, the York Theatre website.