ONE UP PLAYS TO WIN–
WITH A CHEAT CODE FOR CHARM

One Up: The Musical, which premiered at this year’s Hollywood Fringe and returns for encore performances, is a charming, if uneven, 80s-inspired tuner about an underdog game developer trying to make her mark. Set in 1987, the book by creator Mary Bonney and Weslie Lechner takes place at Classic Games, a struggling game company on the verge of becoming obsolete. Into this boys’ club enters bright-eyed intern Bryson (Alanna Hernandez), who secretly develops her own game and submits it under the radar for Demo Day, setting off a trajectory of unlikely success and some corporate drama.

The pixelated workplace musical comedy is populated with familiar types: the ambitious but condescending CEO and boss Greg (Patrick Boylan), who’s more concerned with spin than substance; his overworked secretary of ten years Carol (Bonney), who turns out to be savvier than anyone else in the office; the oddball coworker Neil (James Beardsley); and the sweet-hearted co-worker Teddy (Erik Olson). The cast is uniformly winning, selling the material with energy and precision, especially Hernandez, who anchors the piece with warmth and sincerity (costumer Emily Winokur really captures the period, and her outfit for Bryson is the cutest ever). The tone veers from sincere to satirical and back again, sometimes within a single scene, but the production keeps things moving thanks to snappy direction by Hannah Globus and brisk choreography by Aaron Hoshiko. The trappings are pure Fringe with real polish.

The score by Matt Dahan is packed with bouncy synth-pop numbers that channel the optimistic sound of a bygone arcade era, and while they’re catchy at first, many begin to follow the same predictable structure—upbeat verses, triumphant choruses, rinse and repeat. Which isn’t to say the score falters, and I appreciate all those perfect rhymes, internal exposition, and some 8-bar ear worms. You may not leave humming a standout tune, but you’ll enjoy the ride while it lasts.

The very small-scale design evokes the era without overplaying the nostalgia card, and the show’s themes — creative risk-taking, impostor syndrome, and the tension between artistic integrity and commercial success — give it just enough depth to rise above fluff, a level-up from standard festival fare. One Up doesn’t quite reinvent the genre, but it has a solid game plan, a fun cast, and enough heart to earn its bonus round.

photos by Jay Ragland