THESE LOVERS WILL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS ... OR WILL THEY?

Byline: Evan Henerson

Theater Writer

They're crazy in love in Paris, the most crazy-in-love city in the world. Money's not really an issue, and -- yeah, baby! -- it's 1962!

Except there's a complication: She can't leave, and he can't stay. Kind of puts a damper on the party, no?

With its moody look at Americans abroad, Richard Rodgers' "No Strings" probably seemed an odd choice for a composer who made the corn as high as an elephant's eye and the hills alive with the sound of music. (His follow-up, "Do I Hear a Waltz," was even gloomier.)

Fortunately, few neglected gems qualify as too odd or too dated for Reprise! "No Strings" won't see many revivals, but on Reprise's smaller scale, director Kay Cole knows exactly how to play it.

For this continent-hopping romp featuring strapping beach boys and haute monde partygoers -- most importantly, amid all the glitz and flashbulbs -- Cole distills playwright Samuel Taylor's love story. Stars Scott Bakula and Sophina Brown give the proceedings a bittersweet fire. When they come together, Paris -- with all its heat and enticements -- just has to wait.

David Jordan (Bakula) is a once-successful writer who hasn't actually written anything new in years. Living abroad, our expatriate is everybody's friend, a writer's-block-stricken hack who can sail a boat or pilot a jet. Bakula wears his hair plastered down, a close-fitting leather jacket atop an array of turtlenecks. The man's a portrait of amiability and disaffectedness.

Until, that is, he returns to Paris and meets Barbara Woodruff (Brown), the toast of the Paris runways -- and a kept woman. Barbara's the mistress-in-training for ultra-rich Louis dePourtal (Joseph Culliton), who keeps her in clothes and culture. Oh, Barbara can declaim (via song) that she wants "loads of lovely love," but she loses her heart at her own risk. And David is persistent.

Life really is one continuous party in the world of high fashion, particularly with Oklahoma heiress O'Connell (Bets Malone) around. Ace photographer Luc Delbert (Brent Schindele) shoots the top models and doesn't properly appreciate his comely assistant Jeanette (Carla Tassara). Vogue editor Mollie Plummer (Ruth Williamson) drops in from time to time to check on her product.

Given the composer's earlier penchant for the conventionally romantic, "No Strings" is largely swoon-free. Love and sex are shrugged aside from encounter to encounter. It must be the times.

Cole and choreographer Christine Kellogg nonetheless ramp up the energy and the friskiness so that a duet like "Love Makes the World Go" between Comfort and Mollie is crowd-pleasing as well as racy. Same for Malone's rendition of "Eager Beaver," which finds her dumping an American hanger-on and taking up with a bunch of bare-chested Riviera studs.

Amid all this, Bakula and Brown carve out a little haven of real affection and, we gather, true connection. Their love duets at the top of the second act are staged, fuss-free, on an empty stage. He sings of life in Maine, she of the New York City that she doesn't miss. Then she urges him to get back to his typewriter, but it's not that easy.

Brown (of TV's "Shark") is a find. Playing the role originated by Diahann Carroll, she gives Barbara an air of mystery and plenty of unflashy poise. She's every bit a match for a guy like Bakula's David. And since David is older and more worldly -- he's as much of a match for her, too. Tops among the ensemble is Tassara as the buzzing and super-affectionate assistant, Jeanette.

Doing Reprise! especially proud -- possibly breaking the bank in the process -- are costume designers Bob Mackie and Joe McFate, who doll up those models and men like they really were getting ready for Vogue.

Yes indeed, this "Strings" looks great. Sounds great. ... Who doesn't love a fete, especially one capable of leaving you with a lump in your throat?

Evan Henerson, [phone]

[e-mail]

NO STRINGS - Three and one half stars

Where: Freud Playhouse, Macgowan Hall, UCLA campus, Westwood.

When: 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday; through May 20.

Tickets: $70 to $75. [phone]. www.reprise.org.

In a nutshell: Love and longing among the fashion set in 1960s Paris featuring Richard Rodgers' music.

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Photo:

Sophina Brown and Scott Bakula fall crazy in love in Paris in the Reprise ! production of Richard Rodgers' "No Strings."