By James V. Ruocco
It's a musical narrative that comes from the heart with a slice-of-life perspective and trajectory that pretty much everyone - male, female, whatever - has experienced at one point in their lives.
Dating.
Sex.
Marriage.
Babies.
Doting parents.
Obsession with newborns.
Divorce.
Not rising to the occasion in the bedroom.
Overacting to impress.
Wakes. Funerals. Old age.
Phone calls, break ups, deadly conversations, bridesmaids, sports talk, insecurity, spending the night alone.
Get the picture? Of course, you do.
In "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change," the hit 1996 off-Broadway musical about late 20th century relationships that ran for 5,003 performances at New York's Westside Theatre (it was also staged at New Haven's Long Wharf Theatre prior to its New York engagement), these topics and others are hilariously addressed and reenacted in all their full, unadulterated glory via the Performing Arts Theatre Program at Sacred Heart University.
This is 5 STAR entertainment that comes together with the flash-bang-wallop of London Fringe Theatre - Donmar Warehouse, Southwark Playhouse, for example - offset by the dedicated markings and professionalism of a cast and production team on tap with a voice and presence that cries theatre and breathes theatre with immediacy, ability and curiosity.
Fearless, playful and active, this four-person reverie is sonic in detail, bold in aim, economic and daring in execution and engagingly awash with signature fun, hitch and musicality.
As written by Joe DiPietro, the two-act musical unfolds through a series of lighthearted, neatly assembled, well-positioned song-and sketch vignettes, deftly matched to segments titled "Not Tonight, I'm Busy, Busy, Busy," "A Stud and a Babe," "Men Who Talk and the Women Who Pretend They're Listening," "Tear Jerk," "The Lasagna Incident," "And Now the Parents," "Satisfaction Guaranteed," "I'll Call You Soon (Yeah, Right?)" "Scared Straight," "Untitled," "Always a Bridesmaid," "Whatever Happened to Baby's Parents?" "Sex and the Married Couple," "The Family that Drives Together," "Waiting," "Untitled II," "The Very First Dating Video of Rose Ritz," "Funerals Are for Dating" and "Epilogue."
It's all in jest, served up with a let's-have-fun concept and plotline chock full of acidic one-liners, candid, explicit conversations, vivid characterizations, zany diversions and well-formed engagement and nostalgia.
Its message: the discovery and embracement of one's authentic self with equal wants, mores and wises.
In the director's chair, Justin Zenchuk crafts a smooth, flawless, focused musical comedy romp that's as good - if not better - than previous incarnations staged at Long Wharf, London's West End Fringe and the original off-Broadway outing from 1996. An actor himself with a trunkful of directorial and performance credits, Zenchuk is the real deal. And that, in a nutshell is what puts him at the top of his game. More importantly, he's no copycat. Nor is he interested in a by-the-numbers blueprint of something than sprang to life 27 years ago.
Here, you get a show - a real show where the star is the material, the music, the cast, the design and the one-on-one velocity or connection, if you prefer, between the actor and the audience.
As storyteller he presents a cheerful, invigorating revival (this mounting takes its cue from the 2018 edition featuring two new songs, revised lyrics, reworked dialogue and tangy social media updates) that bounces, tilts, swirls and twirls with well-choreographed diversity and amusement. Given the show's simplistic framework and swift, evolving scenic musings, he glides "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change" from one scene to the next seamlessly reflecting the musical's already-proven wit, irony, energy and accountability.
A clever auteur and creator, he goes the extra mile, letting each segment, each musical number and each character exchange evolve naturally, playfully and humorously. More importantly, he doesn't rush things. He lets the material speak for itself and find its own special sting or brand of humor. He knows how to get a laugh without the slightest hint of calculation. He navigates his cast through the paces always knowing what buttons to push. He excites and surprises. He's also a master of stagecraft invention.
As musical theatre, there's a lot going on here - scene changes, costume changes, actors shifting gears in a millisecond to become the next character in the scenario. The good news is that Zenchuk, directorially, never once repeats himself in terms of staging, blocking mechanics or time and place. Things are fast. Things are fluid. Things are fresh.
The show's powder-keg of ideas, ploys and maneuvers are thrust center stage with just the right weight, the right spin, the right mindset and the right perspective.
Musically, "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change," never once misses a beat, a tick or a rhythm.
The slightly revised musical score is lightweight, clever, evolutionary and good-humored. Written by Jimmy Roberts (music) and Joe DiPietro (lyrics), it contains more than 20 character-driven songs, from solos and duets to tangy, invigorating ensemble numbers that complement the up-close-and-personal subject matter.
They are: "Prologue/Cantata for a First Date," "A Stud and a Babe," "Single Man Drought," "Why? Cause I'm a Guy," "Tear Jerk," "I Will be Loved Tonight," "Hey There, Single Guy/Gal," "Satisfaction Guaranteed," "He Called Me," "Cantata Reprise/Wedding Vows," "Cantata Reprise/Always a Bridesmaid," "The Baby Song," "Marriage Tango," "On the Highway of Love," "Waiting Trio," "Cantata Reprise," "Shouldn't I Be Less in Love with You?" "I Can Live with That" and "Epilogue/"I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change."
Totally in sync with the musical's keen and kindly vignettes, they quickly make their mark, reflecting both the book's celebratory "relationship and love" conceit and its fast-forward, amusing sense of entitlement, purpose, individuality and dynamic thrust.
The lyrics are witty, timely, reflective and nostalgic. The exchanges are snappy and playful. The orchestrations unfold with a wide range of interpretation and abandonment.
Nothing is out of place or jumbled. Nothing is thrown in to make the musical longer than it is or should be. Nothing is preachy or melodramatic. Here, the centerpiece of love and romance is conjured up by its creators with attentive musical interplay, fun and fantasy scoring and committed, melodic partnership.
Under the supervision of musical director Leo Carusone, Tom Morris, at the piano, comes to "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change" with high standards and showmanship (a given at Sacred Heart University) that justly solidify the matter-of-fact sound of the material, its range and color, its expressive, strong irony and its assured, relaxed lyricism. A take-charge, animated musician, he has great fun with the score, smoothly portraying its rhapsodic dimensions, its artistic tilts, its giggly irony and its ever-evolving thematic threads.
As a musician, Morris is also completely cognizant of the actor's themselves, their raw, natural vocal talents, their relationship to the story, their partnership with one another and the individual songs they are asked to sing over the two-act time frame of the production.
His technique - savvy, instinctive and personalized - brings remarkable lucidity and breath to the production but also unleashes a free-flowing flight between singer and musician that complements the elaboration of theme's set forth by the musical's originators, the live performance itself and the intended meaning of the songs they are about to sing.
More importantly, he follows the singers; they don't follow him.
As musical director, Carusone creates a musical thrill ride of theatricality and interlude, underscored by terrific moments of comic and dramatic value, clear articulation, brilliantly realized high notes, creamy intoxication and score-bound fluidity. Under his tutelage, "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change" unfolds with a natural, spontaneous feel that showcases the confident, full-bodied song style of his cast, matched vocally by the quartet's strength, spirit, volume, warmth, realization, command and instinctive musicality.
Gleaming. Textured. Abundant. Rich. Complete. Emotional. Satisfying.
It's music making at the highest level and one that everyone in the audience - student, faculty, friend, parent, theater group, aficionado of musical theatre - feels privileged to hear.
"I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change" stars Chris Conte as Man #1, Paul Keegan as Man #2, Julianna Rezza as Woman #1 and Grace Kelly Kretzmer as Woman #2.
As members of Sacred Heart University's Performing Arts Theatre Arts Program, they come to the Little Theatre stage with musical theatre credits ranging from "Oliver!" "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Falsettos" to "A Chorus Line," "Sondheim on Sondheim" and "[title of show]."
All four are exceptionally gifted actors and singers with impeccable comic timing, personality, musicality and improvisational versatility who adapt freely and effortlessly to the mounting mayhem of the piece, its sentimentality, its romanticism, its whimsy and its quick-change artistry.
Vocally, they are solid, intuitive singers with beautiful voices, song styles and phrasing that connect and compliment the songs they are asked to sing together, alone, as a duet or as a trio.
Keegan, a performer who tops the bill with crowd-pleasing razzmatazz is a natural born showman well-versed in the mechanics of stage performance and everything it has to offer. He's funny. He's charming. He's musical. He's a vaudevillian with stand-up roar, punch and spill who can collapse an audience into fits of laughter using a bagful of tricks (his own, of course) that are full house hysterical and well in sync with the material at hand. Conte is equally impressive in the truest sense, offering a rich, developed, completely natural musical comedy turn that's sincere, quick-witted and area specific effective. Musically, both he and Keegan tackle every musical number with an intervening dazzle, power, emotion and a signature sense of effortlessness that heightens their tremendous vocal talent, range and ability.
The undeniable onstage chemistry of Rezza resonates throughout the entire production, infused with a melt away charm and center stage flair that adds up to fabulous fun for everyone on stage and in the audience. She's a talent - a major one of that - who can play comedy superbly without missing a beat or grace an audience with emotional, powerhouse vocals awash with balance, sweep, immediacy and engagement. Equally dynamic, Kretzmer addresses the "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change" musical canvas with an energetic style, approach and command that not only defines her intuitive performance skills, but her strong sense of identity, flourish and takeaway captivation. Vibrant, passionate and magnetic, she is an incredible performer with a voice, a presence and an acting style that comes right from the heart.
A clear-headed, carefree production, meticulously crafted by the Sacred Heart University Performing Arts Theatre Program, "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change" is a sweet, sentimental musical that takes an amusing, satiric and wistful look at this thing called "love" with a fine flourish and pulse that is not easily forgotten.
It's fun. It's spirited. It's heartfelt. It's hilarious. It's flirty. It's giggly. It's original.
It also serves as a wonderful showcase for students serious about acting, drama and musical theatre to test the waters, get their feet wet, learn their craft and engage in live performance surrounded by professionals that provide a trusty, engaging, relished repertoire of accomplishment, balance, diversity and adventure.
On that note, "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change" spins, dazzles and tilts with rhapsodic lamentation and animation.
Here, four people - Conte, Keegan, Rezza and Kretzmer - stand proud and tall echoing the picture-perfect theatrical dynamic of Sacred Heart University and everything it has to offer.
In the weeks ahead: "Moon Over Buffalo" (March 16-26) and "The Rocky Horror Show" (April 13-15)
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