'Married Alive' takes lightweight approach

If you haven't yet seen a production of "Married Alive!" you won't have to wait long.

A chronicle of the ups and downs of married life, the musical by Sean Grennan (book and lyrics) and Leah Okimoto (music) has had several suburban Chicago productions since its 2006 premiere at Kansas City's American Heartland Theatre.

Lincolnshire's Marriott Theatre staged the show in 2007 and Fox Valley Repertory Theatre - under its previous Noble Fool moniker - revived it in 2009 at St. Charles' Pheasant Run Resort.

Now the pleasantly innocuous confection resurfaces once again, this time in a Metropolis Performing Arts Centre production ably helmed by director/choreographer Stacey Flaster

The enthusiasm that greeted Metropolis' revival on opening night suggests suburban audiences have an affinity for the genially upbeat "Married Alive!" which recalls such frothy relationship-centered revues as "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change" and 'Mid-Life! The Crisis Musical" both of which Metropolis has staged in recent years. The show juxtaposes two couples: newly wedded idealists Erin (Katie Siri) and Paul (David Hathway) who are determined to make their marriage perfect, and long-married pragmatists Diane (Elizabeth Haley) and Ron (Jerry Mills), who understand perfection is impossible and have settled for a happy marriage instead. Contrasting points of view aside, each couple grapples with essentially the same issues: intimacy, kids, career and communication, the latter of which figures prominently in both relationships.

Propelled by Okimoto's up-tempo pop score and Grennan's sweetly sentimental and innuendo-laced lyrics, "Married Alive!" is par for the course when it comes to modern romance revues. The show trades heavily in stereotypes: nagging, talkative wives; uncommunicative, sports-obsessed husbands. Additionally, the characters aren't especially fleshed out, some of the jokes are dated and the scene of a booze-filled, holiday family reunion goes on way too long.

Yet Flaster and her endlessly chipper quartet create several poignant, truly genuine moments. Take for instance Hathway's Paul paying tender tribute to his wife in "The Lucky One," or Haley's stay-at-home-mom Diane's unease at the increasing distance between her and her husband in the touching "It Isn't Important."

The wonderfully perky Siri makes the most of her showcase, "Oh, Knocked Up!" a rousing, gospel-tinged ode to a woman's ticking biological clock that concludes act I. As for Mills, he concludes act II with a heartfelt expression of middle-age love, the kind experienced by those older, wiser survivors of marital skirmishes, who emerge with their marriages intact.

Ultimately, it's the feel-good vibe that makes the middling "Married Alive!" appealing. Yes, it's a lightweight show. But this time of year, who wants to be wrapped in something heavy?