Director Genevieve Steele and musical director Brent Bannerman are looking forward to the opening of I Love You, You’re Perfect… Now Change! Feb. 9 at the Bauer Theatre. (Richard MacKenzie photo)

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As director Genevieve Steele acknowledges, it’s no coincidence that Theatre Antigonish artistic director Ed Thomason scheduled I Love You, You’re Perfect… Now Change! for mid-February.
The musical, noted as the second longest running off-Broadway musical with more than 5,000 performances, is the perfect complement to Valentine’s Day with its central them of love and relationships.
The play’s tag line is “everything you have ever secretly thought about dating, romance, marriage, lovers, husbands, wives and in-laws, but were afraid to admit.”
“It runs the gamut of all the permutations of love,” Steele said.
Musical director Brent Bannerman added that while there are sad, emotional parts, the play is defined by its “great” writing.
“I tell people it reminds me of Saturday Night Live skits,” Bannerman said. “And also a little bit of Seinfeld… that New York style of writing. You have the unique situations and then the writing supports the joke or the gag.”
In charge of bringing the writing to life is actors Katie Jamieson, Ryan Billington and Carl and Jenn Laudadio.
Because the play is a series of skits, the performers are required to play numerous characters of different ages and experience.
“From young people nervously trying to hook up, to going steady, breaking up, marriage, divorce, growing old, growing old and sticking together, not sticking together and finally very old and hooking up again,” Bannerman listed.
“It’s very tricky,” Steele said. “So they have to be on their toes and then to add the dimension of music on top of that. But they’re very adept at what they have to do.”
Bannerman agreed that the four performers are very talented.
“It’s a dream team are far as cast,” he said. “And the chemistry is really good. One couple is an actual couple and the others are really good friends.”
As far as the music, Bannerman said it, like the relationships in the play, runs a wide gamut. In this case, a gamut of styles.
“It’s a delightful score,” he said. “The writing is very contemporary but there are bits of reggae, kind-of Viennese waltz style, cha-cha, pop, power ballads, great three-four country waltz… it’s just really good writing.
“Someone asked me what my favourite number is and I’ve said, ‘I really don’t have one because I really enjoy playing whatever I’m playing at that time.’”
The play opens Feb. 9 with performances also scheduled for the Feb. 10-12, 16- 19, all with 8 p.m. start times.
Speaking on Feb. 3, Steele said preparations are going well.
“Heading into this weekend (Feb. 4 and 5) and opening next week, we’re in a good place,” she said.
For additional information on the play or Theatre Antigonish, visit www.mystfx.ca/theatre-antigonish.