About Time by Maltby and Shire
At Goodspeed
By: Karen Isaacs - Jul 05, 2025
About Time, the new Maltby and Shire revue that recently completed a run at About Time, the new Maltby and Shire seems inevitable, given that the pair previously composed the revues Starting Here, Starting Now (1976) and Closer Than Ever (1989).While Starting Here’s songs dealt with starting out in a big city and finding romance, Closer Than Ever’s songs dealt with subjects related to mid-life.
The show is billed as a “revue about life, love, and laughter in your third act.”
As the partners (they have written together for over 60 years) are senior citizens, it seems unsurprising that this show’s songs reflect that.
The situations and songs reflect everything from children returning to the empty nest because it’s “free,” to memories of youthful escapades, to learning to say goodbye.
Lyricist and director Richard Maltby, Jr. has assembled a season cast of six performers: Darius de Haas, Shinnerrie Jackson, Daniel Jenkins, Eddie Korbich, Issy van Randwyck and Lynne Winterseller. As in Ain’t Misbehavin’, which Maltby devised, there are no characters; the performers are identified by their first names.
Act one starts off on a high note with Eddie Korbich’s rendition of “Show Tune;” his persona is that of the author (Maltby) describing what we are to see. During the show, each performer creates different characters in specific situations.
Most revues have songs that are more successful than others and with no plot and almost no dialogue, sometimes the less successful ones stand out more.
Still, the audience responded well to Issy’s song, “Little Susan Lawrence” – about a young girl’s first-grade boyfriend, and Darius’s “Keys” about older people’s tendency to misplace things. “Smart People” sung by Daniel Jenkins and “No One Will Know” sung by Lynne are also strong. The latter is about a brief affair.
Act two seems to include more extraneous numbers unrelated to the theme. “Kensington Kenny” is a song-and-dance vaudeville number performed by Eddie based on the idea that he found his grandfather’s hat and cane while cleaning out the attic; his grandfather was an English Music Hall performer. A good number and a nice story, however, it seems out of place.
Four brief storytelling interludes are included; the one titled “Password” landed, but the others need work, and perhaps additional ones added. It would be better if these interludes were more closely related to the material that came either before or after.
While in Act One, the songs seem evenly divided among the six, Darius disappears for a significant part of Act Two. I began to wonder if something had happened to him, even though no announcement was made. But he did return for “What Do I Tell the Children?” and “After All These Years” with Eddie.
Maltby’s direction is assured, with Marcia Milgrom Dodge credited with the choreography and musical staging.
This is a work in progress, and it shows. However, with the credentials of the creators and the cast, you can expect it to continue to evolve and be refined.
I look forward to seeing its next version.
Goodspeed MusicalsmusicalReviews