The musical sketch revue I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change has been
running off Broadway for 10+ years. The Chance's cast is bigger (by 3) and
doubtless younger, but certainly able to give the New York performers a run
for their money. Clarissa Barton, John Byrd, A.J. Gutierrez, Erika C. Miller, Sarah
Moreau, Anthony Soufrine, and Camryn Zelinger are uniformly outstanding,
each being given his/her moments to shine. Here are just a few: Barton and
Byrd are most affecting as an elderly couple, Soufrine and Zelinger delight as
a pair of nerds on a blind date wishing they were hot, Gutierrez and Miller
get to sing the show's two loveliest and most moving balads (Shouldn't I Be
Less in Love with You? and I Will Be Loved Tonight) and do each one
beautifully, and Sarah Moreau is funny and touching in her video dating
monolog. (Always a treat to see the adorable Sarah at the Chance!)
Special mention should be made of the prodigiously talented Gutierrez
(hard to believe he's still a teen), the gorgeous comedienne/singer Zelinger,
and the irrepressible bundle of talent that is Soufrine. Those who prefer a
"book" musical should be forewarned that this show is a collection of skits and
songs (though they do follow a certain chronological order). Also, I felt
director/choreographer Kelly Todd's "concept" of starting and ending the
show with the actors portraying interfaith religious leaders to
unnecessary/ineffective, though thankfully it doesn't really detract from an
overall delightful, entertaining, and beautifully peformed evening or
afternoon of theater! (Bill Wolfe and Mira Khomik on piano and violin
provided excellent accompaniment.)

Normally, the set design for the mainstage production is modified to fit the
"evolving stage" production, though in the currently running I Love You,
You're Perfect, Now Change and Inventing Van Gogh, the opposite seems
to be true, with a simple but classy set for the musical coming to vivid life as
the set for the drama, in which projections of classic Van Gogh paintings fill
the stage at appropriate moments. Special credit to Masako Tobaru for this
outstanding "pair" of sets.
FEBRUARY 2007, CHANCE THEATER, ANAHEIM HILLS.

--Steven Stanley