Kate Wetherhead, Howie Michael Smith, et al. Set for I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE at Engeman Theater, Now thru 8/19

The John W. Engeman Theater has just announced the cast and creative team for the hilarious I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE. Previews begin tonight, July 5, 2012 at 8:00 p.m.; with the official opening on Saturday, July 7 at 8:00 p.m. and running through August 19, 2012.

I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE the laugh-inducing, award-winning musical comedy about love in the suburbs, is a touching and insightful look at love and relationships. The long-running off-Broadway show has played more than 5,000 performances and is written by playwright/lyricist Joe DiPietro and composer Jimmy Roberts.The witty script and lyrics showcase a dizzying spectrum of male/female relationships as four actor's journey through a hilarious series of vignettes which cleverly explore the trials and tribulations of single life, dating, marriage, loss and heartbreak. This amusing revue pays tribute to the complexities and absurdities of awkward, intimate moments as bad first dates, meeting the parents and family trips.

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change is produced by RICHARD T. DOLCE, the theater's Producing Artistic Director.

BT McNicholl, the Director, was recently represented on the silver screen with the Oscar-nominated Tom Hanks/Sandra Bullock film "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" on which he served as an acting coach. He won the Australian "Tony" Award (the Helpmann) for his direction of Cabaret, after having been the Associate Director of the Broadway production; he went on to stage record-setting runs of the musical in Paris and Madrid. Other international credits include premieres of Billy Elliot in Asia and The Producers in Europe. He has been associated with a dozen Broadway plays and musicals with directors Mike Nichols, Sam Mendes, Rob Marshall, David Hare, James Lapine, Jerry Zaks and Stephen Daldry. He is the BMI Award-winning lyricist of "The IT Girl" and is proudly part of MGM On Stage. Regionally, he has staged successful productions for the Goodspeed Opera House and Walnut Street Theater, among others. McNicholl is delighted to return to the Engeman with one of his favorite comedies, after directing this theater's productions of Lend Me a Tenor, The Foreigner, Run For Your Wife, Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret, and this year's The Sunshine Boys.

Antoinette DiPietropolo, Choreographer, returns to the John W. Engeman Theater where she last choreographed last season's Hairspray. She was the Director/Choreographer of Nunsense in Flatrock as well as the Director/Choreographer for Chicago, Jesus Christ Superstar and Annie at the Fort Salem Theatre. Additional credits include Choreographer for Annie at the Muny in St. Louis starring Beth Leavel and John Shuck; Director/Choreographer for Ragtime at Lyric Stage where the show was nominated in 14 categories for the Theatre League Awards; Ragtime at North Carolina Theatre she won best choreographer at the Triangle Theatre Awards; Choreographer for Candide starring George Hearn, Rita Moreno, Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley. Co-Creator and Choreographer of a piece called Powerhouse performed at the Joyce SoHo; Choreography was seen in the Off Broadway show With Glee. She is currently the choreographer for the ongoing bus tour "THE RIDE" in New York City; Choreographer for the new show called And Then I Wrote A Song About It, which can be seen Off Broadway this summer; Dir/Choreographer for Annie in Tarrytown; Associate Director for the National Tour of How The Grinch Stole Christmas.

James Cunningham, Music Director, credits include A Wonderful Life at the John W. Engeman Theater. NY/Regional: Little Shop of Horrors (The MUNY), Cats (The MUNY), Bunnicula (TheatreworksUSA), Singin' in the Rain (Cape Fear Regional Theatre), Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Tarrytown Music Hall), Urinetown (NYU). He has also conducted productions of Damn Yankees (Paper Mill) and Maury Yeston's Phantom (NCT). He has played keyboards for several National Tours including: Irving Berlin's White Christmas (1st Nat'l), Spamalot (1st Nat'l), Evita and Cats.

Jonathan Collins (Scenic Designer) Jonathan recently designed The Sunshine Boys at the John W. Engeman Theater directed by BT McNicholl as well as Divorce Party The Musical world premiere, directed by Jay Falzone, and Now The Cats With Jeweled Claws at Cafe La Mama directed by Jonathan Warman. Also Greenwood at the NYMF and The Sound of Music at the John W. Engeman Theater, both directed by Paul Stancato. He has recently associate/assistant designed the Broadway productions of Lysistrata Jones, On A Clear Day, Merchant of Venice, and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.

RYAN J. MOLLER (Costume Designer) Recent projects include: NYC: Peter and I (World Premiere), Justin Sayre is Alive and Well...Writing (Ars Nova) I Married Wyatt Earp (59E59), The Secret Garden (APAC), The Little Shop of Horrors, The Little Dog Laughed, The Drowsy Chaperone (Innovative Theatre Award: Outstanding Costume Design) all for Gallery Players, Project: Lohan (La Mama), The Importance of Being Earnest, As You Like It, Miss Evers Boys and An Ideal Husband. Regional: 2011/12 resident designer for the Herb Strauss Theatre on Sanibel Island Fl: (Winter Wonderettes, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Das Barebcu, Over The Tavern), Hansel and Gretel, La Serva Padrona (NJ State Opera), 4 seasons with Santa Fe Opera including assistant design for La Boehme (2011) Boleros and Blues, Babes in Toyland, Tommy, Madison. Broadway companies of: Rock of Ages, Spring Awakening, Xanadu, Gypsy (LuPone), Lion King, Memphis, Top Girls, Grease. He has worked with: La Mama, Etc, The Santa Fe Opera, Primary Stages, Prospect Theatre, Gallery Players, Troika Entertainment , GALA Hispanic Theatre, The Acting Company, Premiere Stages and The National Theatre of Bermuda.

Joel Silver (Lighting Designer) Previous Design Credits include Tokio Confidential (Scandal Productions), Educating Rita (Huntington Theatre Company), Candela: Fuerza Y Pasion in Lima, Peru, R.Evolucion Latina Choreographer's Festival (R.Evolucion Latina), Tosca, Aida (Opera Memphis), The World Goes Round (Prince Music Theatre),Art Tatum: Piano Starts Here (Apollo Theatre), A Hatful of Rain in New York and Poland, It Must Be Him (Peter J. Sharp Theatre), Caucasian Chalk Circle (New School) and multiple production for Theatre by the Sea, The John W. Engeman Theater and Northern Stage, and NYU Steinhardt among others.

CRAIG KAUFMAN (Sound Designer) Recent credits at The John W. Engeman Theater include Fiddler on the Roof, Run for Your Wife, Cabaret, Hairspray, A Wonderful Life, The Sunshine Boys and 42nd Street. Recent off-Broadway credits include Things To Ruin, Rewrite: The Musical and The Black Suits. Other recent credits include Sunday in the Park with George at Porchlight Theatre in Chicago; Bye Bye Birdie for the American Musical Theatre Project; Perez Hilton the Musical at The New York City Fringe Festival and The Encore Series; My Pal George, Mornings at Seven and Two Headed at the Berkshire Theatre Festival. He has served as the sound designer for New York Universities Steinhardt School of Music Productions of The Fix, The Light in the Piazza, Violet, Floyd Collins, A Little Night Music, I'll Be Damned, Candide, Lit, Messy and Not at All Ashamed and The Gondoliers. Craig has also designed productions at Northwestern University including The Who's TOMMY, Danceworks 2010, A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Handmaid's Tale.

Mark Adam Rampmeyer (Hair and Make-Up Designer) is the Associate Artistic Director at the John W. Engeman Theater. He has directed a number of the John W. Engeman Productions including last Season's 42nd Street and several Youth Theater Series productions including Pinkalicious, Rapunzel, Alice in Wonderland and Frosty. As a stylist his work has been seen on Broadway in Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast, and All Shook Up to name a few. His design work was seen in Lysistrata Jones, West Side Story and The Farnsworth Invention. Off- Broadway: Chasing Manet with Jane Alexander, To Kill A Mocking Birdwith Matthew Modine, The Importance of Being Ernestwith Lynn Redgrave, Restoration with Claudia Shear, and the World Premiere of The Toxic Avenger Musical. Multiple productions at the Paper Mill Playhouse, La Jolla Playhouse, Goodspeed Opera House and George Street Playhouse. Mark is a 2010 recipient of a special Drama Desk award for his contributions to the creative team for Horton Foote's Orphan's Home Cycle at Signature Theatre last season.

Stuart Howard and Paul Hardt (Casting Directors) have cast many shows with director, BT McNicholl. They have cast for Broadway, off Broadway, regional theatres from Washington to Florida and in London.

The Production Supervisor is ROBERT V. THURBER, the Stage Manager is MICHELLE LYNN HINES and the Assistant Director is PAMELA KARCHINSKI.

The Cast of I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change features: Benjamin Eakeley (Man 2) Broadway: On A Clear Day, You Can See Forever and Sweeney Todd. National Tours: Sweeney Todd, Cabaret. Regional: Sunset Boulevard, You Can't Take It With You, Dial M for Murder, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Illyria, Love's Labour's Lost, Marry Me a Little. Film/TV: The Good Shepherd (dir. Robert De Niro), An Englishman in New York, The Good Wife, As the World Turns. 2010 Regional Winner, Kurt Weill Competition for Singers.

Howie Michael Smith (Man 1) who credits include the dual roles of Princeton/Rod over 1000 times in the Broadway production of Avenue Q. Regional: Avenue Q (Ogunquit) A Christmas Carol (Ford's Theatre), 1776, Carousel (Marriott Theatre), As You Like It (Chicago Shakespeare), The Tempest (Dallas Shakespeare), Tribute to Sondheim (Pittsburgh Pops), Bill Nelson's All Male Revue (Barrington), Singin' in the Rain, Brigadoon, Oliver, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Kate Wetherhead (Woman 2) is the co-creator, writer, director and star of "Submissions Only," a comedic web series. Broadway: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Legally Blonde. Off-Broadway: Ordinary Days, Sarah, Plain and Tall, Tatjana in Color. Favorite regional credits: Cabaret, It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman! (Dallas Theater Center), Steel Magnolias (Paper Mill Playhouse), The Spitfire Grill (Skylight Opera Theatre), and Emmett Otter's Jugband Christmas (Goodspeed Opera House).

JoAnna Young (Woman 1) most recently completed a run in the original company of Rated P...For Parenthood at Off-Broadway's Westside Theatre. On Broadway, Joanna has appeared in The Drowsy Chaperone (Janet u/s) and Grease! (Rizzo U/S). National tour credits include Les Miserables (Eponine and Cosette U/S) and Grease!. Favorite regional roles include Diana and Val in A Chorus Line, Gertrude McFuzz in Seussical, and Mildred Mallard in Everything's Ducky.
Press Opening is Saturday, July 7, 2012 at 8:00 pm

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change will play the following performance schedule: Wednesdays and Fridays at 8:00 p.m.; Saturdays at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.; Sundays at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

IN ADDITION, there will be a special matinee on: Wednesday, July 25 at 2:00pm.

Tickets are ON SALE and are $60. Tickets may be purchased by calling (631) 261-2900, by visiting www.engemantheater.com, or at the Engeman Theater Box Office at 250 Main Street, Northport. Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express accepted. To purchase Season Tickets and Gift Cards please contact the Box Office directly. For group rates or to host an event at the John W. Engeman Theater, please contact the Group Sales Department at 631-261-2900. For information on advertising in our Programs or in our Lounge, please contact the Advertising Sales Department at 631-261-2900. The Theater is also home to the John W. Engeman Theater School of the Performing Arts, offering classes and camp programs for children; please contact the Director of Youth Programming for more information at 631-261-2900.

The John W. Engeman Theater at Northport is Long Island's only year round professional theater company, casting our actors from the Broadway talent pool. From curb to curtain, we have made it our business to provide affordable, quality theater in an elegant one-of-a-kind location with outstanding facilities and extraordinary service. The renovated Theater offers stadium-style seating, state-of-the-art lighting and sound, a full orchestra pit, and a classic wood-paneled piano lounge with full bar.

For a complete show schedule and more information contact the theater directly at 631-261-2900, visit the box office at 250 Main Street, Northport or visit www.EngemanTheater.com

Photo Credit: Monica Simoes

To post a comment, you must register and login.