Review: I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE at Center Stage

Love and marriage may go together like a horse and carriage, but it’s rarely a smooth ride. That’s the theme of Off-Broadway’s second longest running hit, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, now playing at the Center Stage Theatre in Shelton.

The books and lyrics by Joe DiPietro and music by Jimmy Roberts are pleasant but lack real insight or nuances in relationships. The director and cast chose to keep the show light and effortless instead of delving further into them. It’s their prerogative, and it makes for a great night with friends or your significant other.

The cast of four – Joelle Cotes (Woman #1), Jen Beveridge (Woman #2), Nick Nunez (Man #1), and Jaxon Beirne (Man #2) – is stellar. Each performer plays various characters and is paired with different partners in different scenes, but they have terrific chemistry. They cruise through the show, which is a two-act series of independent vignettes, all with the universal theme of love, and without a connecting or even parallel storyline. (The show has been translated into at least 17 languages. The book has not been updated to be all-inclusive in today’s open society.) Dating is the entire theme of the first act, and everything else in the second. The vignettes are relatable, such as singing “We got baggage, emotional draggage, and we been luggin’ around this baggage a long, long time.” And the man and woman who are uncomfortable in their own skin and try to speed their relationship to see if the outcome will be what they dream of or if it will be another dud. Or the waiting game – a football widow waiting for the season to end and a man waiting for his wife to finish shopping.

The set design was clever, using the large stage well to accommodate the fluidity of the choreography and letting the audience see the band members – John Morrow on keys, Allegra Pin on bass, and Jose Bastardés on violin.

Songs include charming numbers such as “Cantata for a First Date,” “A Stud and a Babe” "Single Man Drought," "Tear Jerk," "I Will Be Loved Tonight," "Wedding Vows,” “Marriage Tango,” and "Always a Bridesmaid."

I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change is a delightful show.  See it at Center Stage Theatre at 54 Grove Street in Shelton. (203) 225-6079. www.centerstageshelton.org