Go! review

“Snapshots” begins with Sue going to the attic to retrieve a suitcase so that she can move out of the house and a 30-year relationship.

Then her husband Dan walks in on her, and in the process they spill a box full of photos that leads them into a review of their friendship, courtship and marriage.

But “Snapshots,” which is being reviewed from a preview performance, not only refers to the photos they find, but also to the career of Stephen Schwartz as it culls material from his entire career, from his breakthrough “Godspell” to his latest Broadway hit, “Wicked.”

Three actors play Dan and Sue in different stages in their lives. Young Susie and Danny are played by Denise Devlin (recently seen in the Jersey Productions version of “Grease” at the Carnegie in Covington) and Scott Hunt (a Human Race resident artist). The college-age and honeymooning Susan and Daniel are by Kristy Cates (who was in the original cast of “Wicked” and played Elphaba in the Chicago production) and Michael Marcotte. The mature Dan and Sue are played by Stefanie Morse and Jay Montgomery.

What “Snapshots” does very well is putting the old tunes in a new context at various stages in the couple’s relationship. “Popular,” one of the signature tunes from “Wicked,” concerns 10-year-old Susie taking the new kid on the block under her wing, and “All for the Best” from “Godspell” is sung while Susan and Daniel are on a double date with other people. “The Spark of Creation” from “Children of Eden” is not about the beginning of the world in this show, but about Susan’s pregnancy. Other tunes come from “Pippin,” “The Baker’s Wife,” “Rags” and other Schwartz productions.

The assimilation is done so well that if you didn’t recognize the tunes from the other shows, it wouldn’t be obvious that they are borrowed.

What “Snapshots” doesn’t do so well is make a good case for Sue’s decision to leave a marriage that seemed to be working most of the time. Sue and Dan seem to drift apart entirely during the course of one song (“Code of Silence”), dispatched all too conveniently when such matters take years to transpire.

But with top-notch performances by all — but especially from Devlin, who also creates a host of hilarious secondary characters, and Morse, who has a chilling, emotionally-charged delivery — “Snapshots” is an engaging and entertaining production, enjoyable on many levels.

how to go
WHAT: “Snapshots” by Stephen Schwartz, book by David Stern
WHERE: Human Race Theatre Company, Loft Theatre,
WHEN: Through Oct. 7
COST: $15.50-$34
MORE INFO: (937) 228-3630; www.humanracetheatre.org

Scott Hunt and Denise Devlin star in
"SNAPSHOTS: A Musical Scrapbook."
Photo: Scott J. Kimmins