Take your mind off the stress and fast pace of modern-day Miami and travel back in time to the worry-free “good ol’ days” of the Catskills Mountains in the summer of 1960. That’s the idea of the Miracle Theater’s new musical, Breaking Up is Hard To Do. A fun, flirty and light-hearted show, Breaking Up is about finding the one you love when you least expect it.
Breaking Up is part of a new genre of musicals-jukebox musicals-built around hits of the 1950s and ’60s. This one is centered around the songs of Neil Sedaka, perhaps not a household name to this generation, but peppy tunes like “Stupid Cupid” and “Love Will Keep Us Together” are certainly recognizable no matter the age. One major downside to this brand of musical is that while some numbers, like the beautifully sad ballad, “Solitaire,” are poignantly threaded into the play’s story line, other numbers like “Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen” and “Oh Carol” seem out of place and forced to fit. This can make for awkward breaks in the fluidity of the show.
Breaking Up is about two best friends, Marge (played by Jenny Fellner) and Lois (Laura Woyasz) who are looking for a “magical weekend” at Esther’s Paradise resort in the Catskills after Marge was been dumped by her fianc