FeedsTipping Point opener will delight audiences
Staff Writer
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Actors take a stab at the language of love, in the Tipping Point Theater season opener I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change. Lorenzo Toia, left, Courtney Myers, Stephanie L. Stephan and Chip Duford star in the long-running Broadway hit.The perfect antidote for the date night doldrums, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, will continue at the Tipping Point Theater until Oct. 12.
The long running off-Broadway musical revue, written by Joe Pietro with music by Jimmy Roberts, is filled with a hilarious sequence of scenes that trace relationships from their cringing first date beginnings to the challenges of post-divorce dating in order to debunk the age old battle of the sexes. A guaranteed crowd pleaser, the hilarious two-hour review proves that if nothing else, when it comes to navigating relationships, we’re all working without a map- but that just makes the journey all the sweeter.
Expertly directed by Greg Trzaskoma, I Love You… is first and foremost a delightful screwball comedy, with a talented cast members Chip Duford, Lorenzo Toia, Stephanie Stephan and Courtney Myers playing various characters at relationship crossroads careening down the road to coupledom.
The play starts at the beginning of time with the only man on earth asking the only woman if she’s busy Saturday night, and her replying that she’ll have to check her schedule. Thousands of years later, four frantic people go through their pre-date rituals, fake laughs and all, and then lament the shortage of suitable suitors and the pitfalls of post marriage sex.
Filled with the kind of awkward relationship moments that leave us smiling with empathy, I Love You…delivers enough emotional weight to balance the humor nicely.
When a girl (Myers) inadvertently asks her new beau (Toia) to bring condoms for dinner instead of wine, she laughs and says, “What was I thinking? Condoms don’t even go with lasagna!” Then, in the same scene, she sings a solo so filled with youthful yearning that the audience is left dabbing their eyes. It’s the kind of one-two punch that makes love seem worth the worry, and sticks with viewers long past curtain call.
In fact the brilliance of the show, aside from the outstanding performances from cast members, is that it boils relationships down to their most collective intimate moments, underscoring the oft-overlooked truth that everyone everywhere has agonized about who and how to love.
I Love You…reminds us with sweetness and humor that the battle of the sexes is really more of a dance, one that everyone knows the steps to.
I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change takes to the stage Thursdays through Sundays. Tickets are $18- $28. For more information or tickets contact (248) 347-0003, or visit www.tippingpointtheatre.org.
