I Love You. You’re Perfect. Now Change. Music by Jimmy Roberts. Book and Lyrics by Joe Dipietro.
Directed by Janie Lawson. Assistant Director and
Choreographer Amy Campbell. Musical Direcor and keyboard. Leo Amadeus. Violin
Laura Lay. Set Design Cate Clelland. Concept sSet Design Janie Lawson. Lighting
Design Craig Muller. Sound Design James McPherson. Costume Design Louise Newey.
Stage Manager and Lighting Operator Liz Phillis. Sound Operator and Mic
Technician Logan Steed. Producer Anne Somes. Free Rain Theatre. ACT HUB 19
August- 5 September 2026. Bookings: enquiries@acthub.com.au
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
 |
| The cast of I Love You. You're Perfect. Now Change |
Director Janie Lawson makes an
impressive directorial debut with her Free Rain production of Jimmy Roberts’
and Joe Dipietro’s I Love You. You’re Perfect. Now Change. Lawson
herself is an acclaimed musical theatre performer and she has turned out a
treat. This is an absolutely
delightful show, jam packed with hilarious comedy, catchy tunes and familiar
insights into the power and fickle frailty of Love over we mere mortals.
 |
| Amelia Andersson-Nickson and Sarah Copley in I Love You. You're Perfect. Now Change |
On entering the ACT HUB theatre I am instantly struck by Janie Lawson’s concept and Cate Clelland’s simple design of a chess board with a variety of identifiable chess pieces spread about the floor. The irony is inescapable; the statement black and white. The female Queen is the most powerful piece upon the board, able to attack or defend at will. The male King is the most defenseless, forced to retreat under attack until cornered and checkmated to end the game.
 |
| David Pearson and Sam Thomson in I Love You. You're Perfect. Now Change |
Lyricist and writer Joe Dipietro takes an affectionate and slightly satirical swipe at the sexes and their love dilemmas in a series of short vignettes from dating to meeting the parents to sexting, the marriage, gay love, sex in marriage and love in old age. A company Prologue and harmonious Epilogue bring this wild and wonderful journey to an end at which monastic expectation is shed for a new beginning. Composer Jimmy Roberts suits the music to the scene from pop to Country and Western to Hip Hop and Tango all underpinning the singer’s struggle within the situation, all embraced by the full cast cantata to lead you through the stories.
 |
| The Wedding Scene from I Love You. You're Perfect. Now Change |
Lawson has gathered an excellent cast of six talented performers, each with their moment to shine, solo or in duet. Deborah O’Toole and Amelia Andersson-Nickson bemoan the lack of male prospects in Single Man Drought. Connor McNaught shows a sensitive side to the man in Tear Jerk with Sarah Copley who lends a touch of pathos in her monologue The Very First Dating Video of Rose Ritz, a cry for help by all divorced single mothers. Sam Thomson lets out the loss of identity in a gay relationship, saddled with the responsibility of raising a child in The Baby Song. It’s a dilemma shared by McNaught and Copley in Marriage Tango in Sex and the Married Couple. While the younger members of the company reveal the pain of Love through early relationships, marriage and family, DiPietro includes the older couple, played with authentic perception by O’Toole and Pearson. Too many magic moments to mention, this 30 year old Off Broadway musical has stood the test of time with book, lyricS and music that prove thoat Love’s game of chess has not changed. There will be someone in the audience who, like an audience member in 1996 will think, if not cry out “That’s my life.”
 |
| David Pearson. Deborah O'Toole, Amelia Andersson-Nickson and Sam Thomson in I Love You. You're Perfect. Now Change |
It is a pity that from my seat in the front row I could not see Musical Director on keyboard Leo Amadeus and violinist Laura Lay behind a couch. It is to their credit that keyboard and violin were sufficient to accompany the singers and at the same time capture the spirit of Roberts’ music and Dipietro’s lyrics. Off Broadway has come to ACT HUB with a wonderful cast of local performers and this is an opportunity not to miss. Audiences will laugh, Some may shed a tear. All will see a bit of their lives performed by a cast that make every moment shine.
Photos by Janelle McMenamin
Promotional Photography by Andrew
Sikorski
I Love You. You’re Perfect. Now Change. Music by Jimmy
Roberts. Book and Lyrics by Joe Dipietro.
Directed by Janie Lawson. Assistant Director and
Choreographer Amy Campbell. Musical Direcor and keyboard. Leo Amadeus. Violin
Laura Lay. Set Design Cate Clelland. Concept sSet Design Janie Lawson. Lighting
Design Craig Muller. Sound Design James McPherson. Costume Design Louise Newey.
Stage Manager and Lighting Operator Liz Phillis. Sound Operator and Mic
Technician Logan Steed. Producer Anne Somes. Free Rain Theatre. ACT HUB 19
August- 5 September 2026. Bookings: enquiries@acthub.com.au
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
Director Janie Lawson makes an
impressive directorial debut with her Free Rain production of Jimmy Roberts’
and Joe Dipietro’s I Love You. You’re Perfect. Now Change. Lawson
herself is an acclaimed musical theatre performer and she has turned out a
treat. This is an absolutely
delightful show, jam packed with hilarious comedy, catchy tunes and familiar
insights into the power and fickle frailty of Love over we mere mortals.
On entering the ACT HUB theatre I
am instantly struck by Janie Lawson’s concept and Cate Clelland’s simple design
of a chess board with a variety of identifiable chess pieces spread about the
floor. The irony is inescapable; the statement black and white. The female
Queen is the most powerful piece upon the board, able to attack or defend at
will. The male King is the most defenseless, forced to retreat under attack
until cornered and checkmated to end the game.
Lyricist and writer Joe Dipietro
takes an affectionate and slightly satirical swipe at the sexes and their love
dilemmas in a series of short vignettes from dating to meeting the parents to
sexting, the marriage, gay love, sex in marriage and love in old age. A company
Prologue and harmonious Epilogue bring this wild and wonderful journey to an
end at which monastic expectation is shed for a new beginning. Composer Jimmy
Roberts suits the music to the scene from pop to Country and Western to Hip Hop
and Tango all underpinning the singer’s struggle within the situation, all
embraced by the full cast cantata to lead you through the stories.
Lawson has gathered
an excellent cast of six talented performers, each with their moment to shine,
solo or in duet. Deborah O’Toole and Amelia Andersson-Nickson bemoan the lack
of male prospects in Single Man Drought. Connor McNaught shows a
sensitive side to the man in Tear Jerk with Sarah Copley who lends a
touch of pathos in her monologue The Very First Dating Video of Rose Ritz,
a cry for help by all divorced single mothers. Sam Thomson lets out the loss of
identity in a gay relationship, saddled with the responsibility of raising a
child in The Baby Song. It’s a dilemma shared by McNaught and Copley in Marriage
Tango in Sex and the Married
Couple. While the younger members of the company reveal the pain of Love
through early relationships, marriage and family, DiPietro includes the older
couple, played with authentic perception by O’Toole and Pearson. Too many magic
moments to mention, this 30 year old Off Broadway musical has stood the test of
time with book, lyricS and music that prove that Love’s game of chess has not
changed. There will be someone in the audience who, like an audience member in
1996 will think, if not cry out “That’s my life.”
It is a pity
that from my seat in the front row I could not see Musical Director on keyboard
Leo Amadeus and violinist Laura Lay behind a couch. It is to their credit that
keyboard and violin were sufficient to accompany the singers and at the same
time capture the spirit of Roberts’ music and Dipietro’s lyrics. Off Broadway has
come to ACT HUB with a wonderful cast of local performers and this is an
opportunity not to miss. Audiences will laugh, Some may shed a tear. All will
see a bit of their lives performed by a cast that make every moment shine.
Photos by Janelle McMenamin
Promotional Photography by Andrew
Sikorski
