I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change
Book and Lyrics by Joe DiPietro. Music by Jimmy Roberts.
Directed by John Staniunas
Madison Repertory Theatre opens its 2000/2001 season with I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, a musical joyride through the jungle of dating, marrying, procreating, and aging. This celebration of the mating game takes on the truths and myths behind that contemporary conundrum "the relationship." Act I explores the journey from dating and waiting to love and marriage, while Act II reveals the agonies and triumphs of in-laws and newborns, trips in the family car and pick-up techniques of the geriatric set.
I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change opened in 1996 and is currently in its fourth year of a successful off-Broadway run. The Newark Star Ledger called it "Seinfeld set to pop music" and the New York Times said it is "witty, funny and as good as it gets." The New York production has garnered a reputation for its "first date appeal" and is rumored to be a popular spot for marriage proposals during intermission.
Produced by The Rep
Presented at the Madison Civic Center in the Isthmus Playhouse.
July 21 - August 26, 2000
*audience discussion
WED THURS FRI SAT SUN
July 21 8:00 pm
July 22 5/8:30 pm
July 23* 1:30 pm
July 26 7:30 pm
July 27 7:30 pm
July 28 8:00 pm
July 29 5/8:30 pm
July 30 5:00 pm
August 2* 7:30 pm
August 3 7:30 pm
August 4 8:00 pm
August 5 5/8:30 pm
August 6 1:30/5 pm
August 9 7:30 pm
August 10 7:30 pm
August 11 8:00 pm
August 12 5/8:30 pm
August 13 5:00 pm
August 16 7:30 pm
August 17 7:30 pm
August 18 8:00 pm
August 19 4/8:00 pm
August 20 1:30/5 pm
August 23 7:30 pm
August 24 7:30 pm
August 25 8:00 pm
August 26 4:00 pm
Single ticket prices are $22 for Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday performances and $27 for Friday and Saturday performances. For more information, or for reservations, contact the Civic Center ticket office (608) 266-9055, 211 State Street, Madison.
For information on GROUP RATES, call Madison Rep at 256-0029 x13. AUDIENCE TALKBACKS are scheduled to follow the 1:30 p.m. performance on July 23 and the 7:30 p.m. performance on August 2. These informal gatherings are an opportunity for the audience to meet cast members and discuss the play.
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The Staff
John Staniunas will direct the production. He made his Madison directorial debut in 1991 with the Rep's production of NUNSENSE. He also directed Madison Rep's productions of BABY, CONSUMER AFFAIRS and, most recently, 'TIS THE SEASON. Staniunas is currently an assistant professor of theater at the University of Kansas.
Staniunas said, "This is a play about everyone who has ever been in a relationship. In other words, it's about all of us. Life and love work together in a cycle. You're independent, you fall in love and then you're part of a couple. Being part of a couple requires change. Some changes, like becoming parents, are great but are also difficult. This show brings them to light in a way that everyone recognizes. It's that shock of recognition that makes the play so much fun."
The design team for I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change includes FRANK SCHNEEBERGER, scenery; MELANIE SCHUESSLER, costumes; JOHN TEES, lights and JACK SAYRE, sound. The stage manager is MARK SAHBA. LANNETTE CANLHOUN is the musical director for the production.
The Cast
The cast includes Rep veterans TONY CLEMENTS (Dick in Dames at Sea; Frankie in Forever Plaid), MICHELLE SMITH (Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors) and KAY STIEFEL (A…My Name is Still Alice, Quilters). BRIAN RUNBECK makes his Madison Rep debut to complete the cast.
The Playwrights
JIMMY ROBERTS composed the music for I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE. His children's musical, THE VELVETEEN RABBIT, produced by Theatreworks/USA, has played all across the United States for nearly a decade. His song, What Did I Do Right?, was featured in A…My Name is Still Alice. His music is also featured in the musical, Pets. Roberts is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music and the recipient of awards from ASCAP.
JOE DIPIETRO wrote the book and lyrics for I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE. He is also the author of the plays OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS, THE KISS AT CITY HALL and THE VIRGIN WEEPS. He is the recipient of the William Inge Theater Festival New Voices in American Theater Award, and he has won the O'Neill National Playwright's Conference MacArthur Award for comic writing. He is playwright-in-residence at American Stage Company in Teaneck, NJ.