I Love You, You're Perfect is Cynicism with a Smile
Have you heard? Geeks wish they were hot. Men love their cars, and don't seem to call after a first date. And women have to wait in long lines for the bathroom, while men are stuck waiting around for them to finish shopping.
I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, the new Bethesda Theatre's first production, has been playing off-Broadway for, well, forever, and the show doesn't offer any startling revelations into the opposite sex and the foibles of dating and marriage. But while some of its scenarios can seem cliché, the show's not really going for depth -- instead, it provides a diverting, familiar walk into the territory of love that proves enjoyable when you've got entertaining performers and amusing lyrics to go along with it.
Most of I Love You...'s songs fall into the "fairly amusing" category, and the four singers Bethesda Theatre has assembled often make them even better. Jean Arbeiter, for example, struts her single status with pride in the country-esque "Always A Bridesmaid," and Timothy Warmen goes from meek husband to the king of cocky in "On The Highway Of Love." (Scott Evans and Marcie Henderson are both fine as well, though Henderson's characters can be a bit one-note at times).
I Love You has been compared more than once by critics to Seinfeld, and while many of its moments certainly aren't lacking in cynicism, it doesn't have the same ironic, dark spirit of the hit comedy. In fact, it squeezes out a couple of sincere, touching ballads, namely, "I Will Be Loved Tonight," which outlines a woman's expectations of her first physical romantic rendezvous in quite some time, and "Shouldn't I Be Less In Love With You?", where a man looks back at 30 happy years with his wife.
The production could stand to update a few more of its cultural references (I don't think anyone's been on a date to see a Schwarzenegger action flick lately), and the first act moves along a lot more quickly than the second (maybe it's personal experience that makes the dating scenarios more engaging than the marriage ones). But when describing the show, "cute" and "heartwarming" come to mind much more quickly than "trite" or "cheesy."
I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change runs through Dec. 31 at the Bethesda Theatre. Tickets are available online.