Being in a relationship has a lot of twists and turns, ups and downs and everything inbetween.
And Lend Me A Theater wants to tell you all about it. The traveling theater group will begin a three-week run of I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change at Hatbox Theatre on Friday with shows each day over the weekend.
Through a series of vignettes and songs, the cast of eight set the scene for the entire sequence of a relationship.
“It really shows all the stages,” said Michael Mark, the show’s director.
From the trials and tribulations of a first date to marriage and kids to the twilight years of a longtime love, this show examines the trials and tribulations – in a laugh out loud kind of way.
“It’s all wrapped up into one musical,” said Jack Miller, set designer for the show. “It looks at different aspects and different ways people act in different relationships.”
It pays tribute to those who have loved and lost, to those who have fallen on their face at the doorstep of romance, and to those who have dared to go out on a limb and ask that secret crush out on a date.
Since the show traces the overall arc of a relationship, just about anyone will find similarities in everyday life.
“You may even say ‘they’re writing this about me,’ ” said Miller. “Or it’s going to reflect someone you know.”
The group of eight, four men and four women, give you quick looks at the different stages of love through the short vignettes. The pairs are not the same throughout because it’s not about one single couple. This is about all kinds of unique situations that are bound to come up during a relationship.
So it doesn’t matter if you’ve only been on a couple first dates in your life as you’re waiting for the right one to come along, are set to be married or have been hitched for many, many years, this performance will speak to you.
It’s the group’s first-ever musical and was put together specifically for Hatbox – because the local theater was looking to add more of that genre to their season schedule.
And since Lend Me A Theater doesn’t have a home performance space (hence the group’s name), they look for ways to ensure spots to perform.
Miller, who in addition to his role as set designer for the show, also does marketing for the group and serves on the board, saw the show a few years ago and loved it.
The play selection committee agreed.
“It’s a wonderful musical,” Miller said. “When I first saw it, I went into it completely blind and absolutely loved it. I cannot remember any other show where I laughed as much.”
The cast includes the likes of Deb Angelo, Scott Aubertin, Robert DiGregorio, Maureen Mark DiOrio, Ray Dudley, Gary Evans, Susan Schott, and Maggie Faneuf.
The vignettes are for the most part relatively short – with the longest that feature a couple songs lasting upwards of 10 minutes.
“It’s a very high energy, fast pace show,” Mark said.
And that means lots of scenes, including dates in restaurants, conversations in the living room and an outing in the family car (although there won’t actually be a car on stage).
“Once you’re two or three in, you’re saying this is my life,” Miller said.
This is the only time Lend Me A Theater is performing I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, so you’ve got just nine shows over three weekends to see it.
Shows are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through March 18. Tickets are $17, $14 for members, seniors and students and can be purchased in advance at hatboxnh.com or by calling 715- 2315.
And just an FYI, this is a show about relationships, so contains strong language and sexual references.
