I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change

This delightful musical revue (book and lyrics by Joe Dipietro, music by Jimmy Roberts) has been running on Off Broadway since 1996. Very much in the unassuming, chamber-musical tradition of The Fantasticks, it’s a highly entertaining – and occasionally poignant – look at various heterosexual mating-game rituals from contrasting male and female perspectives.

Rather than being a continuous story, 20 scenes present different permutations on themes of dating, sex, love and marriage. Two girls and two guys play over 60 characters in a show that has been described as ‘Seinfeld set to music’.

With a background setting of a restaurant called ‘Le Jardin d’Amour’, Act I revolves around dating, while Act II concerns marriage, parenthood, divorce and bereavement. Cleverly structured, we see the development of relationships from the beginning (literally, with the first ‘item’, Adam and Eve), through courting leading on to a wedding, followed by children and in-laws, middle-aged restlessness and romance blossoming in an elderly couple at a funeral.

The mainly comic scenarios kick off with “Cantata for a First Date”, which brings new meaning to ‘speed dating’, as we fast-forward through a promising relationship that turns sour. “A Stud and a Babe” represent the idealized self-images of a nervous couple low on confidence. “Hey There Single Gal/Guy” and “The Baby Song” highlight the pressures singles can feel to get married and have children.

There are also a few songs with more feeling, such as “Always a Bridesmaid”, in which a lonely woman asserts she is better off single than unhappily married like some of her friends, and “Shouldn’t I Be Less in Love with You?”, when a man feels guilty that he no longer feels the same passion for his wife.

Director Phil Willmott ensures that scenes flow into each other smoothly and that there’s plenty of interaction in the ensemble pieces. Although the show has been slightly Anglicized and updated (including a reference to Charles and Camilla’s forthcoming wedding), Willmott has wisely not overdone it. John Payton, Lucy Hunter-James, Jo Cook and Mark Hilton make the most of some catchy tunes and witty lyrics, performing with infectious verve and enthusiasm, accompanied by Anthony England on piano.

The show may merely confirm your own ideas about matches and mismatches rather than challenging them but it certainly has the feel good factor.

– Neil Dowden