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Joe DiPietro and Jimmy Roberts' Love-Happy Musical Revue

I Love You, You're Perfect,
Now Change
by Joe DiPietro and Jimmy Roberts
directed and choreographed by Kelly Todd
musically directed by Dean Anderson

 

 

 

 

 

THEATER ARTICLE

'You're Perfect, Now Change,' Set at Chance
Buena Park Independent

January 19, 2007

Under the guidance of Kelly Todd, a Chance Theater Company director and choreographer, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, will open Friday, January 26, and run a total of 27 performances through March 11.

Show times are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. For all general performances, tickets are $25 general admission, and $22 for seniors and students with I.D. A $20 Preview Performance is scheduled for Thursday, January 25, at 8 p.m. The Opening Gala on Friday, January 26, at 8 p.m. will include a champagne reception after the performance. A Dinner and Show package with Yves' Bistro and Cafe Europe is also available.

In keeping with The Chance's artistic vision of presenting Off-Broadway Theater in Orange County that is always unique and always personal, director and choreographer Kelly Todd promises a spirited, new, lively celebration of DiPietro and Roberts' mating game musical comedy. Everything that you have ever secretly thought about dating, romance, marriage, lovers, husbands, wives and in-laws, but were afraid to admit, will hilariously spring forth in inimitable Chance Theater-style. She is delighted to be collaborating with Musical Director Dean Anderson, who is also music director and conductor of The Orange County Symphony.

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change has been playing for 11 years and for more than 4,000 performances as Off-Broadway's longest running musical comedy revue. I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change is the first Off-Broadway show since The Fantasticks that has reached decades-long run status. The universal themes of the frustrations, disappointments and joys of dating, marriage and love have gained the show enduring popularity and have made it a hit across the country. It has also been produced in more than 400 cities thoughout the world - including London, Dublin, Barcelona, Tel Aviv, Hong Kong, Seoul, Johannesburg, and Buenos Aires.

Widespread acclaim has followed since the show's 1996 opening. The New York Times hailed it as "witty, funny and as good as it gets." Newsday declared that "if the show were a blind date, you'd feel relieved, grateful and pleasantly surprised!" "A great date show. A perfect mating dance!" - shouted out The Star Ledger. "So smartly conceived... catchy tunes and witty lyrics," said Variety. And, Gannett Newspapers called it, "Hilarious! The most entertaining show on or off Broadway!" The show also garnered the "1999 Best Musical South Florida Critics Circle/Carbonell Award" and has acquired quite a reputation for its "first date appeal" and popularity for marriage proposals.

The cast features three Chance Theater Repertory Company members: Clarissa Barton, most recently seen in the late night holiday hit The Eight: Reindeer Monologues, along with Erika C. Miller and Sarah Moreau, both of whom were last on stage in the acclaimed summer musical Into The Woods (Back Stage West Critic's Pick). Joining them will be A.J. Gutierrez who was also featured in the production of Into The Woods.

Making their Chance Theater debuts with this production are John Byrd, Anthony Soufrine, and Camryn Zelinger.

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THEATER REVIEW

'Now Change' zeros in on battle of sexes
Review: Chance Theater lends a warm, engaging feel to the 1996 revue about romance
Eric Marchese, Orange County Register

February 4, 2007

It's a good bet that even if you've never seen "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change," you've actually lived some of the events it depicts in song.

The 1996 show, now off-Broadway's longest-running musical-comedy revue, hits home by underscoring how men and women are almost like two different species.

"... Now Change" is a fine fit for the Chance Theater. The Anaheim company adds a "frame" of its own through which to introduce the material, pumping heart into the 18 songs for a warm, engaging production.

Joe DiPietro expresses himself adeptly through his adroit lyrics and waggish libretto. Composer Jimmy Roberts' music covers a wide range of mid- to late- 20th-century pop styles. That combination gives director and choreographer Kelly Todd and musical director Dean Anderson a broad emotional palette from which to work.

The framing device mixes Catholics and Jews at an "Inter-Faith Community" mixer. Whether workable or even necessary, it lets us hear the cast sing within the larger context of men and women interacting at the social level.

Todd also has an expanded cast. The show is typically done with two men and two women; the Chance uses three men and four women. The revue format demands that actors in the show portray a variety of personas, a task this septet approaches with enthusiasm and more than a fair share of musical talent.

Format-wise, "... Now Change" follows a certain logic, beginning with the blind date, ending with an elderly widow and widower meeting "cute" at a funeral. What's in-between isn't so much predictable in the way it depicts the state of contemporary romantic affairs as in what it depicts - the singles scene, marriage, the first baby and the ups and downs of matrimony, of growing old together, of losing a spouse.

Each scene - typically, a skit followed by a song - is introduced with a "Frasier"-like supertitle. The song "Cantata for a First Date" points up the pains both genders go to for a first date. The first few songs catalog the woes and joys of the dating world: A pair of misfits (Erika C. Miller, Anthony Soufine) click after 'fessing up to their own faults. A guy (Soufine) is dragged to a chick flick by his date (Camryn Zelinger), his resolve melting in the face of a tear-jerker that gets him blubbering. A woman (a restrained, triumphant Miller) is elated when a longtime friend invites her for a romantic dinner, prompting the lovely ballad "I Will Be Loved Tonight."

Because of its episodic nature, many of the songs in "... Now Change" work apart from any overarching context. "He Called Me" spoofs opera and pushy Jewish moms eager to marry their daughters off. "Always a Bridesmaid" resonates with its theme of single gal (Zelinger) relating her status as a perpetual member of a parade of wedding parties.

The many surprises that emerge along the way spring from DiPietro's ability to turn song lyrics inside-out for maximum effect. He could survive just fine, though, writing skits for TV comedy-variety programs, as proven by his witty concept of having a couple on a blind date (Zelinger and A.J. Gutierrez) speed through an entire relationship's ups and downs in just a few minutes. Two hyper pitchmen (Clarissa Barton, John Byrd) combine TV legal counseling with advice by Masters and Johnson - exactly the kind of wacky stuff aired weekly on "Mad TV."

More dramatic is the compelling "Very First Dating Video of Rose Ritz," in which a long-married, suddenly separated 40-year-old (Sarah Moreau) bares all emotionally during her videotaping.

Even those few seemingly derivative songs go over well. "Marriage Tango" has a distinctly Tom Lehrer-esque feel. "I Can Live With That," wherein two elderly Jews (Barton and Byrd) hit it off at a funeral home, echoes "It Couldn't Please Me More" from "Cabaret." With its achingly tender lyrics and sound, "Shouldn't I Be Less in Love With You" rings of Sondheim and countless others - but no matter. Gutierrez delivers the ballad with quiet passion, creating one of the evening's more poignant moments.

Anderson on violin and pianist Bill Wolfe offer spot-on accompaniment. Todd's dance steps add visual interest, as does Sunita Mager's costume scheme, which leans on black-and-white plus pale pastels. The upshot is a revue less about men and women forcing change on one another as it is the unshakeable differences between the genders.

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THEATER REVIEW

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change
Joyce & Elliott Rosenthal, Fullerton Observer

February 15, 2007

Welcome to the multi-purpose room of St. Killian's Church where you are warmly greeted by representatives of various faiths who are participating in a Faith Alliance for Religious Tolerance session. Welcome also to Chance Theater's rollicking, hilarious performance of "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change."

This musical revue ran for eight years off-Broadway in New York City which is understandable after watching this cast in action. The seven members portray over twenty characters who are searching for romance, sex, love, marriage, parenthood (in no particular order), while calling attention to the maddening differences between how men and women view these subjects.

We eavesdrop on two timid souls on a first date who believe they must act as a "stud" or a "babe" to succeed; commiserate with a perennial bridesmaid as she surveys her closet full of ridiculous dresses; share the bewilderment of a friend's first visit to new parents who have forgotten English and now converse in "Baby"; accompany a group in a "Scared Straight " program to prison to hear the awful fate of someone who chose not to marry and more- much, much more.

The performance is especially enjoyable because it is true to life. At various times you will think to yourself "Oh my-that could have been written about me. I remember feeling the agony, ecstasy, embarrassment, shame (choose as many adjectives that fit) that is being portrayed in stage.

The entire cast does such an exceptional and outstanding job and all sing, dance and act so well that it is impossible to single out an individual performer for special applause; they all deserve it. They truly have the ensemble concept down pat!

Kelly Todd is the Director and Choreographer for the show and Dean Anderson is the Musical Director; they have brought out the best in their talented performers.

You owe it to yourself to see this show. You have no excuse not to go because it will be playing at Chance Theater through March 11, 2007.

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THEATER REVIEW

Battle of the Sexes
'I Can Live With That'
by Nardine A. Saad, OC Weekly

March 1, 2007

The battle of the sexes has been raging since Adam and Eve, which probably explains why I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change is the longest-running off-Broadway musical comedy in history. It has no specific story arc, but the songs, dances and sketches effectively parody our oldest traditions of dating, love and 'til death do us part.

The play has been around since 1996-there are still a couple of weeks left in its run at the Chance Theater-and director Kelly Todd is mostly true to the original script by Joe DiPietro and Jimmy Roberts. But she's made a few modifications, some to adapt its New York orientation to a West Coast audience, and others to better manage the show's rapid pace. Originally a two-man and two-woman show, this production uses seven actors to portray the approximately 50 characters who appear in about 20 scenes.

Basically, the show's two acts are split between examinations of the apprehension that characterizes the single life and the acquiescence necessary to make a marriage work. The opening number, "Cantata for a First Date," establishes the tone for a night of clever, catchy and occasionally poignant odes to the trite and true extents we go to in our search for everlasting love. The men sing: "Mouthwash, toothpaste/bring the condoms just in case/Macho boy, slick the hair/Modern man, debonair/I will splash on musk/I will knot my tie/And before I go I will check my fly." And the women reply: "Facial cream from a spa/Lingerie, Wonder bra/Hairspray, hair spritz/Wax the legs, shave the pits/Appetite, coy and pert/Don't eat much, no dessert/Sweet and low, half and half/Smile a lot, fake a laugh."

From there, a modern couple who meet at Starbucks for a blind date race through every stage of a relationship-from first date to first fight to seeing their ex on a date-in about 10 minutes. It adds a whole new connotation to the term "speed dating."

Later, we get the travails of marriage: meeting the crazy in-laws, childbearing, divorce and even widowhood. One of the final scenes is of two people who have lost their mates trying to pick each other up at a funeral of a mutual friend, which with the help of perhaps the show's most philosophical number, "I Can Live With That," sets off the entire cycle again.

I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE, AT THE CHANCE THEATER, 5552 E. LA PALMA AVE., ANAHEIM HILLS, (714) 777-3033; WWW.CHANCETHEATER.COM . THURS.-SAT., 8 P.M.; SUN., 2 P.M. THROUGH MAR. 18. $22-$25.

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THEATER REVIEW

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change
by Joe Mack, The Sonny Bozeman Show

March 1, 2007

This show was so well directed, that even the people doing the scene changes did it entertainingly!

I applaud the dynamic directorial-duo: Kelly Todd and Dean Anderson.

The night I attended, the very talented, Bill Wolfe/pianist and Mira Homik/violin, performed flawlessly.

The show consists of around, 20 short vignettes about relationships. They are (mostly) funny and poignant. The acting was so consistently superior that it's hard for me to point out my favorite actors. However, I was quite moved by Erika C. Miller (I will be loved to tonite), along with (Always a Bridesmaid) Camryn Zellinger. This is not to say you won't be equally moved by some of the other wonderful skits.

Sometimes, I pray a show will be mercifully, short; but not this show.

I recommend it for older audiences, however, not as a caution against the very adult scenarios. It's just that, the older one gets, and experiences romantic relationships, the more one will relate to the subject matter.

I'd be remiss if I didn't comment on the singing and dancing that begins and ends the show.

I don't think you'll gain insights into interacting better with the opposite sex. Unless, it re-confirms the fact that you can more easily love someone if you stop trying to change him!

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change confirms, at least for me, that simple-acceptance is the best strategy in the battle of the sexes!

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