Up Here
Opening Night: July 28, 2015
Closing: September 6, 2015
Theater: La Jolla Playhouse
When introverted, 30-something computer repairman Dan finds a potential spark with outgoing t-shirt designer Lindsay, his attempts at a relationship are thwarted by the Technicolor world in his head. This world-premiere musical goes where no musical has gone before, bringing to life the circus of judgmental, neurotic, ever-changing characters that rule an ordinary man’s mind. Up Here is an ambitious, razor-sharp musical comedy about recognizing your place in the universe — and maybe even finding happiness.
BUY TICKETSREAD THE REVIEWS:
August 12, 2015
Geek meets girl. Geek’s neuroses drive him batty. Geek loses girl. This sad tale forms part of the plotline of “Up Here,” an endearingly goofy but inconsequential musical making its premiere here at La Jolla Playhouse. The show has been given a splashy, colorful production, directed by Alex Timbers (“Here Lies Love,” “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson”) and choreographed by Joshua Bergasse (Tony-nominated for “On the Town”), for an obvious reason: Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, the married couple who together wrote the book, music and lyrics, are hot in Hollywood. In case you do not live in the vicinity of young children, or are unfamiliar with the name Adele Dazeem (or Idina Menzel), the Lopezes won an Oscar for original song for “Let It Go,” from the monster-hit Disney movie “Frozen.” Let’s now pause while we all attempt to get that pesky earworm out of our heads. Never mind: Let it go on. Anyway, “Up Here,” which contains quite a few charming and catchy tunes, if nothing to match the soaring sweep of that Oscar winner, is the first original musical written by this team, who also have separate (if not quite equal) achievements on their résumés. He won Tony Awards for the musicals “Avenue Q” and “The Book of Mormon,” and she won prizes for the Off Broadway musical “In Transit.”
READ THE REVIEW