Customer Reviews

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change (1996 Original Off-Broadway Cast)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The musical begins in Eden as the primal first date is about to commmence. Throughout the show relationships progress into marriage, then children, then post children. The Marriage Tango is a hysterical number in which the husband and wife are trying to make time for sex, but children and other jobs get in the way. Satisfaction Guaranteed is an advertisement by a legal firm to have a lawyer present during sex so that erotic agreements can be kept. The lyrics by Joe Dipietro and music by Jimmy Roberts are snappy and sappy, just as they should be. It is sort a I Do I Do with a larger cast and a broader scope. Great listening!

hilarious musical, with wonderful songs, two of which could make you cry (not a bad thing)...the many different characters you meet are charming, and the way the actors and actresses can change their personality so fast is amazing. I worked back stage for this show, as a dresser, and it was by far the most fun show i've ever worked...cause there was so much to do....the best part about it, though, was it never got confusing...no two characters or situations overlap....the scenes are absolutely hilarious...the playwrite couldn't have captured the ups and downs of relationships better! wonderful to see, do, listen to....whatever!

This CD takes you from the creation of Man and Woman through dating, marriage, children and retirement. I laughed through just about every song, from the man who can't admit he's crying at a movie, to a perennial bridesmaid singing about her dress ("For Katlin, I wore satin, which I look really fat in..."), to the couple with children, trying to plan a romantic evening, to the two elderly people who hook up at a funeral home. Though not extremely sophisticated, the music and lyrics are mostly clever and definitely enjoyable.

Love -- it's the stuff most musicals are made of. Look at them all - "Grease" with goody-goody Sandy Dumbrowski and not-so-bad boy Danny Zuko, "Guys and Dolls" with dumb blonde Adelaide and smooth-talking sweetie Nathan Detroit, musicals love love! But "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change" takes a love story and makes it brutally honest. They sing what we're all thinking - from preparing for a first date (Cantana for a First Date) to chick flicks that guys just hate (Tear Jerk). This honesty makes the songs hilarious and makes this CD definitely able to hold its own.

A confession. I haven't actually heard the cd but I plan to. I have seen this musical here in the fly-over. A talented cast of four actors, dances & sings thru quite a number of vignettes about that enternal, battle: man vs woman. It starts out hilariously at the dawn of time & maintains the laughs through such sketches as "Single Man Drought", "Cause I'm a Man", "Always a Bridesmaid", & the very touching & personal "Shouldn't I be less in Love with You?" There are 15 others. How you relate to this play may depend on you age. Over 50 may be best since some of the bits are a bit dated. The under 30 crowd is usually not self-aware enough to see themselves in these situations. But everyone will laugh. The songs are funny. Give it a listen or see it if you can. I love live theater.

While living in Westchester County, I happened across this show one night off Broadway. It's a hoot! As the advertisements said, "It's SEINFELD set to music."

THE SHOW:
I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE is a series of songs and sketches (mostly comic) about the interpersonal relationships of life. Act I is about the common and not-so-common mishaps of dating; Act II is about marriage, raising kids, divorce, remarriage, and a number of other topics. Obviously, Act I works as a cohesive whole much better than Act II. The cast is comprised of two women and two men, and the accompaniment is provided by a pianist and a violinist. (When I saw the show, the two instrumentalist were of opposite genders, which they highlighted in a "Battle of the Sexes" rendition of the Entr'acte.)

THE DIALOGUE:
Some sketches are weaker than others. Luckily, the worst sketch, right near the beginning of the show, where a man and woman on a blind date decide that, due to their busy schedules, they will skip some of the traditional awkward moments of the dating process, is not included on the CD. Unfortunately, we don't fare as well with "Satisfaction Guaranteed," which is quite offensive, and is the only completely spoken sketch included on the recording. In my opinion, a better choice for inclusion would have been the poignant soliloquy by the divorced woman at the video dating service....or perhaps the singles club meeting held at Attica State Prison.

THE MUSIC and THE RECORDING:
Of the 19 tracks on the CD, 17 are comedic. Most of the music is fantastic, and the cast members have good voices and great comedic timing. My favorite number has to be "Always A Bridesmaid," a lament by a frequent wedding witness whose hideous gowns have longer lifespans that the marriages to which they were worn. ("For Tabatha, I wore taffeta. You should never: people laugh at ya.") Other favorites include "Single Man Drought," about two women on dates from hell, "Tear Jerk," in which a macho guy gets dragged to a `chick flick' movie, and "I Can Live With That," the musical conclusion to a great scene where two elderly people flirt at a funeral.

When I heard that one of my friends was performing a song from this musical at a singing competetion, I thought I would check it out, and I found myself very thankful that I did! This musical is very hilarious, exploiting the stereotypes of dating, love, and marriage. The score has very many catchy tunes, but a few of the songs do need the visuals. Nonetheless, there are still many standout tracks:

A Stud And A Babe
Single Man Drought
Hey There Single Guy/Gal
On The Highway Of Love

The music gets better and better with repeated listening and is a must buy!

Oh my gosh! I saw this play at a small theatre in Tennessee. I fell in love with the play. It is one of the best plays of all time. The way the actors here did it I think worked better than the CD cast. The cast on the CD's voices just don't mix as well as they needed to. But non the less it was a awsome show and soundtrack.

This is one of the most inventive shows to come to Broadway, with its fabulous soundtrack backing it up. I saw this production over 2 years ago and I remember it like it was yesterday. The songs are just so brilliantly written that you really don't mind having them stuck in your head.
The honesty of the topics that the production shows is mirrored in it's hilarious, witty, and even touching lyrics. Songs like: He Called, Always a Bridesmaid, and Shouldn't I be Less in Love with You, you will be reminded of the lighter sides to dating and, whether or not you are or aren't, marriage.
This is a show that anyone who's ever dated can relate to. It's fun, hilarious, and will put a huge smile on your face!

This show is the longest-running off-broadway musical, and I can't believe I'd never heard of it before. I saw it live at the Edinburgh Festival by the National Student Theater Company and went back twice more. It's funny, clever, and touching without the slighest hint of corn. Love, dating and romance are hardly new topics for musical theatre but the melodies are so memorable and the lyrics so fresh that it will speak to you if you've ever had any kind of experience with love. My favorites are the achingly yearning "I Will Be Loved Tonight," and "We're Married -and We're Gonna Have Sex" which will have you falling out of your seat with laughter. If you love musical theater, get the CD, then get yourself to New York to see this fab, fab show!