‘I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change’ by Joe DiPietro (book and lyrics) and Jimmy Roberts (music) is light-hearted musical comedy about love and relationships and all the struggles and hurdles that come with it. There’s no overall narrative at work, the play is a series of vignettes between a man and a woman (though there are some quartet work and one couple variant are two married men) that detail some of the inner thoughts that enter our heads when it comes to dating, to our self-worth and self-image (in relationship to relationships), to sex, to being in a relationship, to getting married, and all that happens after marriage. It’s quickly paced, witty and clever and upbeat, and says quite a lot of things that not a lot of people say out loud (but you know they think it) and over-all is quite a fun and amusing play.

Sitting in the new Repertory Theater in Eastwood, I remember laughing and seeing how good the four performers were. I caught the cast that composed of Barbara Jance, Krystal Kane, Marvin Ong, and Gian Magdangal and these four actors are shifting and switching roles per vignette. At one point, he’s a guy who is boring her during their date and in the next scene, they could be a married couple with a new infant wondering what happened to their sex life. Most of the play is sung through, but in the few moments when they engage in dialogue and trade lines, you can see the honesty in their work. They are all fabulous singers, and you can tell they are having fun. And with a fun show like that, it is thrown back to the audience.

But the thing about the play is that I do remember laughing. I remember enjoying myself and having a good time. But the moment I was out of the theater, I don’t remember much. It’s the way that the play is written. It’s making a lot of fun (and in its own way, creating a critique about our world in terms of dating and relationships) at the complex ways with which we think about romance and love. It does say some pretty interesting things in some parts while others take a more traditional stance but, in the end, it wraps everything up very neatly and manages to say much at all. I’m not saying that all plays must be thought-provoking and profound. This is definitely a great time in the theater but what it did was made me think about how different Americans see relationships and dating in comparison to us.

There are similarities, sure, and this is wonderfully done by one scene early on about a guy and girl who are attracted to each other but don’t think they are attractive enough to be wanted. Beautifully done and so authentically performed. But the show is primarily done in duets which sort of emphasizes the loneliness and isolation of American culture. These exact same moments, in a Filipino setting, would not be duets, but songs sung and performed in front of their barkada or their one or two closest friends. Filipino culture is so rooted in family and community and the stories that unfold in ‘I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change’ would play out so differently if it were done with the Filipino mentality in place. This is the disconnect I felt with the material.

But the show itself is so enjoyable and well put together. Director Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo utilizes projectors and scrims to really create a vibrant, dynamic backdrop that keeps changing according to the narrative of the vignette. With only two actos on stage, most of the time, and with four at the most, I’m surprised how that stage never feels empty. The movements, that projector and the scrims, it’s a dynamic world that keeps the energy flowing and you don’t get lost from the transitions from moment to moment. Kudos to projection designer GA Fallarme, Set and Costume Designer Joey Mendoza, and Light Designer Meliton Roxas Jr for keeping the world on that stage vibrant and breathing.

My Rating:

I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change will run until March 9, 2025 at the REP Eastwood Theater. Get your tickets at Ticketworld and Ticket2Me.