[NEohioPAL]"I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT ..." Rave review for Actors' Summit

Mon Jul 15 16:47:50 PDT 2002

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Love changes everything
Little to tweak in Actors' Summit Theater's `I Love You, You're Perfect, Now 
Change'
By Elaine Guregian
Beacon Journal music critic

There's built-in appeal in a show with a title like I Love You, You're 
Perfect, Now Change. Anyone who has been in a relationship might be drawn to 
think about the fact that humans can't resist trying to improve the people we 
love the most.
The show has caught on in a big way. Originally, it was produced by the 
American Stage Company in Teaneck, N.J. Since August 1996, it has been 
running at the Westside Theatre in New York City.
Directed by Neil Thackaberry at Actors' Summit Theater in Hudson, the revue 
got lots of laughs from an audience made up mostly of seniors at Thursday's 
preview performance. A polished quartet of performers -- Andrew Brelich, Jenn 
Goodson, Kari Kandel and Keith Stevens -- made quick costume and personality 
changes to take on the personas of couples in various stages of dating, 
marriage, having a family and aging.
Jenn Goodson, a 2002 graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College, made an assured 
Actors' Summit debut, showing off a voluptuous singing voice that's terrific 
for musical theater. Each of the other cast members has his/her own distinct 
appeal. Andrew Brelich had a wary, vulnerable way of looking at the world. 
Keith Stevens was able to flash a dazzlingly confident phony smile as a young 
man, send a chill up the spine as a prison inmate or affect a winsome appeal 
as a widower.
The show's appeal is a lot like comfort food. The flavors of these 
stereotypes and jokes aren't as sharp anymore, and for someone in the mood 
for familiarity, that may be OK. Men who like to lie around on the couch, 
watching sports and scratching, aren't new territory. Neither are women who 
leave their men holding the bag, literally, while making marathon shopping 
trips for -- what else? -- shoes. It's a relief when the characters 
occasionally stop acting like such airheads. Kari Kandel infused I Will Be 
Loved Tonight with a sweet hopefulness, providing a sincere respite from all 
the banter.
There are moments when Joe DiPietro, who wrote the book and lyrics to music 
by Jimmy Roberts, scores a zinger. Goodson and Brelich were hilariously 
desperate as sex-starved parents who finally strapped on sexy undergarments 
right over their regular clothes and did the tango as their children shouted 
their demands from offstage.
While the acting cast went all out to sell the revue, pianist John Franks and 
violinist Jennifer Berlyoung were short of their snappy precision. With such 
a small cast, every musical line counts, and the singer/actors carry more 
than their share of the burden in this production. Good thing that they are 
so up to the task.
Elaine Guregian is the Beacon Journal's music critic. She can be reached at 
330-996-3574 or <A HREF="mailto:eguregian at thebeaconjournal.com">eguregian at thebeaconjournal.com</A>.

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<HTML>Love changes everything
 Little to tweak in Actors' Summit Theater's `I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change'
 By Elaine Guregian
 Beacon Journal music critic
 
 There's built-in appeal in a show with a title like I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change. Anyone who has been in a relationship might be drawn to think about the fact that humans can't resist trying to improve the people we love the most.
 The show has caught on in a big way. Originally, it was produced by the American Stage Company in Teaneck, N.J. Since August 1996, it has been running at the Westside Theatre in New York City.
 Directed by Neil Thackaberry at Actors' Summit Theater in Hudson, the revue got lots of laughs from an audience made up mostly of seniors at Thursday's preview performance. A polished quartet of performers -- Andrew Brelich, Jenn Goodson, Kari Kandel and Keith Stevens -- made quick costume and personality changes to take on the personas of couples in various stages of dating, marriage, having a family and aging.
 Jenn Goodson, a 2002 graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College, made an assured Actors' Summit debut, showing off a voluptuous singing voice that's terrific for musical theater. Each of the other cast members has his/her own distinct appeal. Andrew Brelich had a wary, vulnerable way of looking at the world. Keith Stevens was able to flash a dazzlingly confident phony smile as a young man, send a chill up the spine as a prison inmate or affect a winsome appeal as a widower.
 The show's appeal is a lot like comfort food. The flavors of these stereotypes and jokes aren't as sharp anymore, and for someone in the mood for familiarity, that may be OK. Men who like to lie around on the couch, watching sports and scratching, aren't new territory. Neither are women who leave their men holding the bag, literally, while making marathon shopping trips for -- what else? -- shoes. It's a relief when the characters occasionally stop acting like such airheads. Kari Kandel infused I Will Be Loved Tonight with a sweet hopefulness, providing a sincere respite from all the banter.
 There are moments when Joe DiPietro, who wrote the book and lyrics to music by Jimmy Roberts, scores a zinger. Goodson and Brelich were hilariously desperate as sex-starved parents who finally strapped on sexy undergarments right over their regular clothes and did the tango as their children shouted their demands from offstage.
 While the acting cast went all out to sell the revue, pianist John Franks and violinist Jennifer Berlyoung were short of their snappy precision. With such a small cast, every musical line counts, and the singer/actors carry more than their share of the burden in this production. Good thing that they are so up to the task.
 Elaine Guregian is the Beacon Journal's music critic. She can be reached at 330-996-3574 or <A HREF="mailto:eguregian at thebeaconjournal.com">eguregian at thebeaconjournal.com</A>. 
 
 
 
 </HTML>

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