If you blinked, you might have missed it: I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change ran for three performances at the Clayton Center for the Arts on Maryville College campus. However, its short run was no indicator of its appeal: opening night was a full house, and the laughter that filled the auditorium was palpable. This production had a little something for everyone, because at its heart, I Love You is about our desire for human connection—and the many opportunities we have to thwart or complicate that desire for connection. There’s not really a plot to I Love You, but rather a series of thematically connected musical vignettes featuring an ensemble cast that flit between several roles. But that’s a lot like life and love; fleeting moments with unexpected characters, many of whom are here but for a moment.
Ethan Graham Roeder of First Take Co., in collaboration with producer Betsy Rueff of emerging company Renascent Productions, directed a stripped-down yet evocative production of Joe DiPietro’s 1997 musical review, the second-longest running Off-Broadway musical. A lot of this production is minimal and the settings suggested rather than outright depicted, which fits the at-times suggestive nature of the musical’s treatment of sexual and romantic relationships. However, the non-narrative world of the musical comes to hilarious life using the occasional prop: a table, a few chairs, and one poor old abused stuffed animal that has the living daylights nearly beat out of it on stage. In lieu of any concrete backdrops, Roeder worked with lighting designer Sara Oldford to wash the stage and a large white screen with moody lighting that accompanied the tone and context of each musical number: one notable moment was during “Tear Jerk,” a number evoking a movie theatre, where Roeder pantomimed a slasher-film killer with knives, silhouetted behind the screen. Blocking throughout the musical was emphasized by the minimal set design.
In addition to directing, Roeder was also a member of the ensemble cast. He was a big hit with the crowd during “Marriage Tango,” where he portrayed a randy husband alongside a wife character Casey Maxwell as a couple eager but struggling to physically connect amid the pressures of kids and married life. Maxwell is expressive and alluring, but occasionally her voice was overwhelmed by the instrumental ensemble, especially when she wasn’t directly facing sections of the audience. In quieter moments, her dialogue and singing performances shined. The same can be said of Ella Trisler’s nuanced performance, wavering between multiple emotions in a single moment, from the fear, excitement, frustration, and self-consciousness we experience when encountering new romance. Unfortunately, Trisler also struggled against the instrumental accompaniment at times. My main observation was that several of the performers, but especially the women with higher vocal ranges, were nearly drowned out by the ensemble; and as audiences were seated on three sides of the performance area, it was difficult to sing or speak to benefit the entire audience at all times. The best seats in the house may have been front and center, and I had a seat deep on stage right, so that might explain some of the sound issues I experienced.
However, Robyn Maker and Ci Ci Teasley, both of whom performed with First Take Co.’s summer concert series Scruffy City Sings, were the vocal powerhouses of the night, and funny to boot. Maker’s performance added a cheeky sass to her ensemble roles, which demonstrated her acting dexterity; she seemed to be a completely different person each time she was on stage. Teasley’s performance of “Always a Bridesmaid” was powerful, and her voice brought a nice soulful quality to the old-timey, Western-sounding number. Producer Rueff was also a member of the ensemble, but like some of the other vocal performances, her voice was occasionally lost to the music; she could have also benefitted from more facial and bodily expression to bolster her performance.
Jack Rosamond was a hit throughout the musical, leading his vocal performances with a warm and sometimes geeky sentimentality; while the humor of this musical is primarily in its punny lyrics, Rosamond extended that humor into the way he carries himself on stage. Sammy Pontello was the more nuanced and somber of the male performers; he and Trisler had a magnetic chemistry during their performance of “A Stud and A Babe,” a song that recounts the awkwardness of first dates and not feeling like “a catch.” And Jimmy Sherrod was best in duet and ensemble performances; he plays off of the other performers very well, but his best moment was during “I Can Live With That” alongside Rueff in her best performance as well.
Although the live music dominated the actors’ vocals in this show, their performance certainly warrants a shout-out: musical director Matthew Mimbs led Sheryl Howard (reeds), J. Miller (drums), and Russ Fuquay (bass) in a rich, resonant rendition of I Love You’s 21 songs and additional accompaniment. Mics would have been a huge asset for this performance, ensuring everyone would be equally heard and enjoyed.
While I tend to roll my eyes at some of the more stereotypical gender expectations present in this musical, Renascent and First Take Co. tried their best to modernize or soften some of the cliche “men like football” and “women like shopping” sentiments by including same-sex couples in a handful of the vignettes. Sometimes it worked, like in Roeder and Pontello’s performance of “Shouldn’t I Be Less in Love with You?,” but at other times it felt superficial. Overall, this was a delightful debut for Renascent Productions with the help of First Take Co., one that bodes well for Knoxville audiences in the future.
