Theatre Too/Theatre 3 presents I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change
Book and Lyrics by Joe DiPetro
Music by Jimmy Roberts
Director Alejandro Saucedo
Music Director and Keys Cody Dry
Scenic Designer Track Curtis
Lighting Designer Imani McCants
Costume Designer Karina Sanchez
Props Designer Sarah Barnes
Stage Manager Claire Boschert
Run Crew Karina Sanchez
Cast
Brett Warner Woman 1
Samantha Padilla Woman 2
Jonah Munroe Man 1
Kevin Matthew Solis Man 2
Understudies
Jaclyn Gonzalez Stapp
Andre Williams
My thoughts on I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change or…Love’s Labors Found or a Valentine for all of us
Although this four-person musical revue about the joys and foibles of finding love and nurturing it first premiered Off Broadway in 1996 and was updated a bit around 2018, it’s getting a fresh, new take at Theatre Too thanks to the prodigious talent of the show’s director, Alejandro Saucedo. Saucedo knows that love does not have color, shape, or gender and that all couples are not solely heterosexual as portrayed in the original incarnations of this show. By making it inclusive of everyone, the show feels fluid and very 2024. The show is so up to date that there’s even a reference to Ozempic.
Saucedo also has some excellent support here from Music Director and keys player Cody Dry. Dry has the company of four outstanding singer/actors sounding terrific in both the group numbers and solos.
The company includes some of DFW’s finest talent who can act just as wonderfully as they sing. Brett Warner appears as Woman 1, Samantha Padilla is Woman 2, Jonah Munroe is Man 1, and Kevin Matthew Solis is Man 2. I believe every possible match up occurs in the course of the musical. This talented foursome portrays a variety of ages and becomes gay, straight, or whatever convincingly and often with great humor. In the fluid, all embracing, insightful world Saucedo has created here, nothing matters except the quest for love and keeping that love alive.
One of the aspects I admire most about I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change is that it gives every cast member a chance to shine as they explore the arc of relationships in short vignettes and songs. Act I is funnier and lighter in tone as the characters search for love, while Act II, though often funny, is more focused on the challenges of making love endure.
Highlights include Jonah and Brett sharing their insecurities and lamenting that they are not “A Stud and A Babe” in a wow of a duet and the entire company in the hilarious “Satisfaction Guaranteed” where the idea of suing a partner who doesn’t satisfy you becomes legally feasible.
Samantha brings down the house with her big musical comedy diva voice while she shares her frustration over being “Always A Bridesmaid.”
Jonah, who has an amazing voice that can go from a roar to a whisper in an instant, is sensational showing his softer side as the husband wondering “Shouldn’t I Be Less In Love With You?” after decades of marriage.
Brett, displaying her fine acting skills, has a beautiful monologue that is both amusing and touching as a divorced mom contemplating online dating. It’s a quietly powerful piece that made me smile with a lump in my throat.
Kevin is a hoot as the dad in “Highway of Love” as he deals with traveling with the family and he and Samantha are simply incredible as an elderly couple finding love in the poignant “I Can Live With That.” Kevin’s voice and presence project kindness with a touch a vulnerability that is exceptionally appealing. The frustrated casting director in me wants to see him as J. Pierpoint Finch in How to Succeed.
Saucedo’s I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change is an inclusive, affectionate valentine for everyone. The love and the laughs are plentiful and the performances and staging are superb. There’s nothing I would want to Change here.
