“Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” Eric Segal wrote Love Story as a screenplay and then recast it into a best selling novel. The 1970 film, which starred Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw, got terrible reviews; but proved immensely popular with the weeping classes who were looking for escapism. The heroine, you will remember, died of leukemia at the age of 25. (“Dying,” she said, “is like falling off a cliff in slow motion.”) They used to issue tissues with tickets at the cinemas.
The novel has now been turned into a boutique musical by Stephen Clark and Howard Goodall and is played straight through without interval. The dialogue is snappy. The music is pleasant enough without being memorable. There is one number about making pasta which is great fun.
Emma Williams and Michael Xavier are very personable as the lovers and sing nicely and handle the verbal volleyball with skill. Peter Polycarpou and Richard Cordery give strong support as their respective dads. Rachel Kavanagh’s production has class and is extremely efficient.