Fear of flying
solo

Treading the well-worn path of the single girl in the city--while at the same time upending convention by making her gay--The Break Up Notebook: The Lesbian Musical elevates itself above the typical laments and insights of the unpartnered urbanite with heavy doses of energy, humor, and substance.

Star Heidi Godt is up to the task as heroine Helen Hill, a journalist suffering from the departure of her beloved girlfriend, who has dumped her for another woman. Comforted by friends Monica (Melody Butiu), Joanie (Jacqueline Maloney), and Bob (Patrick Bristow), Helen picks herself up off her ratty couch and enters the dating fray, which is packed with enough injustices to keep the audience howling. Lori Scarlett's music and Patricia Cotter's book--based on her play--includes a frenetic montage of Helen crisscrossing Los Angeles, meeting "not-cute" with a two-stepping 12-stepper at a gay country bar, getting bent over at a lesbian sex club, and additional scenarios that precisely capture the feeling of dating "as a job."

All the peculiarities of gay mating and dating get their due, with U-Haul, White Party, and Saran Wrap jokes told with such snappy melodic accompaniment that they somehow manage to outlive their sell-by date. In between the raucous musical numbers, choreographed to near-perfection by Gail Conrad, the supporting stories--which include the impending civil nuptials of Monica and Joanie, a butch/femme couple fighting over who wears the dress in the family--are fleshed out.

Bristow (best known for queeny roles in Ellen and Showgirls) does double duty, effectively portraying "gay best friend" Bob as well as Helen's laconic father. Deb Snyder as Helen's mother brings soul to the affair with a pitch-perfect scene of resignation, fear, and ultimate acceptance regarding her daughter's orientation. It's a scene that has played out a million times between gay child and straight parent, and The Break Up Notebook does it justice.

Also satisfying is where Helen's quest for love leads, which is not where one may expect. The ending is optimistic, but not a cop-out, something this lesbian Sex and the City has over its influential straight predecessor.

Director Sue Hamilton keeps the production top-notch, with scenery changes as seamless and natural as the performances.

The Break Up Notebook: The Lesbian Musical is playing at Los Angeles's Hudson Backstage Theatre (6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood) through February 12. For tickets call (323) 960-5563 or visit www.thebreakupnotebook.com.