CALGARY - With a shortened version of the off-Broadway musical This Could Be Love, Lunchbox Theatre is singing a tuneful goodbye to its 34th season of one-act plays.

This amazing record makes Lunchbox the longest-running noontime theatre in the world. Yes, in the world! There's a great deal planned to celebrate Lunchbox's landmark 35th season in the coming months and catching This Could Be Love will get you in the spirit.

It's a whimsical musical about the pitfalls of falling in love. Written by Canadian Brock Simpson, it's the story of a man (David Leyshon) and a woman (Lynley Hall) who are longtime losers in love.

They meet at a bar on a night both are stood up by their respective blind dates.

They are so fed up with being stood up they decide to cheat fate and be in love instead of trying to fall in love. That means they get drunk, get married, consummate the marriage and then try to balance hormones with emotions.

Needless to say, it's a disaster, especially given they are polar opposites.

Simpson's tunes and lyrics owe a great deal to Stephen Sondheim but, if you're going to pay homage to someone, you might as well choose the best.

Leyshon and Hall are both dynamic singers, but it's not until the late entry song Helsinki that Leyshon is allowed to bust loose and boy can this man sell a song. Hall has fun with a real tongue twister called I-Made-A-Mistake.

Director Glenda Stirling keeps the action moving much like a carousel, but it's Terry Gunvordahl's set that's the stunner.

The whole set is a collection of suitcases that configure to make everything from beds and desks to chairs and dressers.

According to Simpson's play, love is all about discarding one's baggage which is why Gunvordahl's suitcases work so well as a metaphor.

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