‘Out!’ Sings of Gay Life in Earnest Notes

The always tenuous line between art and life became virtually inconsequential Friday night in the South Coast Chorale’s premiere performance of “Out!,” at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in

Long Beach. The melodious, entertaining work was performed with particular panache by the ensemble’s singers because it represented, in effect, the chronicle of their individual and collective lives.

Although Steven Landau and the Chorale’s artistic director, Bob Phibbs, were responsible for composing the music and structuring the text, the Chorale members were the true creative force behind the work, whose genesis traces to a 1994 program in which many of the singers in the ensemble--which describes itself as the artistic voice of the lesbian and gay community--publicly shared their individual growing-up experiences.

Late last year, each singer was asked to provide recollections for a larger, extended work. Landau and Phibbs then transformed the material into a full evening of linked songs, monologues and production numbers.

Landau’s music, performed with the accompaniment of a four-piece ensemble, was strong on melody, if a bit predictable in terms of style. The singers’ individual performances, wildly variable in terms of skill, were nonetheless earnest and sincere. Only the few ensemble numbers revealed the choir’s admirable skills as a musical unit.