Give Now  »

"I Love You, You're Perfect..." But That's Not Where It Ends

couple dance

The Crossroads Repertory Theatre in Terre Haute opens their season with the delightful comedy, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change. The short comic sketches that trace the process of courtship and marriage by Joe DiPietro are witty fun. The varied music by Jimmy Roberts nicely helps to make the points of those little stories.

There's a gentle arc to the show with the opener a cantata as the three males and three females prepare for a first date. First dates get quite a treatment beginning with a couple who're so intent on their blackberry driven lives that they agree to skip the tension of the first date, then the hesitation of the second and so on, until  they're all the way to a break up with the possibility of a make up in a year or so. The skits wind through some very funny male and female laments and triumphs. There's even an ad from a legal firm offering to represent clients in suits for sexual satisfaction.  The act does end with wedding vows, but they're a little shaky.

The second act of I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change takes the marriage go round to weddings, the inevitable changes that children cause, the bitterness of divorce and a quite strange, hesitant but  romantic meeting. "Always a Bridesmaid" is a nicely country flavored piece. There's the couple who can focus on nothing except their new born. A family road trip with the tension of a side seat driver and the backseat children occurs. A divorcee filming a video for a dating service can't stop from turning it into a bitter diatribe. The last sketch is a real charmer. We're at the end of the arc, but romance is still very much in the air as a slightly shaky elderly couple meet in a chapel while taking a break from funerals.

The small cast of the show did a fine job with the show. They're all good singers and solid actors. Sometimes it was simply hard to believe that each of them could take on such different roles so successfully. The often anonymous, but very personable Males Nos. 1, 2 and 3 were Jason Bowen, Jomar Ferreras and Andrew Behling. The equally personable and equally often anonymous Females Nos. 1, 2 and 3 were Molly LeCaptain, Veronica Garza and Carolyn Conover.

Director Bill Kincaid and choreographer Teresa McCullough have clearly worked closely to create this fast moving show on Bob Holton's flexible open set. Katerina Papadatos created the dozens and dozens of quickly changeable costumes.  Musical direction was by Mark Carlisle. Kurt Perry presided at the piano.

There are three more opportunities to see the Crossroad's Rep's warmly funny season opener.  I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change plays on July 17, 25 and 26. This Friday,  June 26th marks the premiere of Rachelle Martin Wilburn and Travis Dillon's The Untold Story of Little John, a musical based on characters from the Robin Hood story.

At the theatre for you, I'm George Walker

Support For Indiana Public Media Comes From