Theatre review: I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change is a hilarious perspective on modern love

All that Tinder swiping just to end up on a boring — or worse, snobby — date? Always the bridesmaid, never the bride? Too busy managing the household that you put romance on the back burner? We've got just the thing for you!

This April, Sing'theatre returns with the longest-running off-Broadway musical revue, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change. Tackling the perils and pitfalls of modern love, this witty play comes to life through a series of vignettes, songs and scenarios.

From first date to marriage, children, and the twilight years of life, this comedy directed by TJ Taylor, takes its audience in for an insightful yet hilarious ride on the truths and myths of a conundrum as old as time — love.

The timeless tale is told by some stellar cast members: Andrew Marko, Benjamin Chow, Rebekah Sangeetha Dorai, and Misha Paule Tan, that each held their own in the performance. The team has also given the play a a local touch with the show set in Singapore.

First dates

In the first segment of Act 1, the play quickly walks us through the lifecycle of modern dating — from first date, second date, third date… to first argument, breakup, and facing your ex afterwards with someone new.

Enjoy the female perspective on a date night, where the ladies are hit with the harsh realities of the world; facing a 'Single Men Drought' and having to compromise for the boring, macho Bob. Other themes include lying on first dates, social consciousness of not looking like a 'Stud' or a 'Babe', as well as men showing vulnerability, and women making the first move.

Dating life

Next in dating life, the cast explores themes like non-committal partners, or those focused too much on their career, breaking up, and even saucy topics like the need for guaranteed — or contractual — sexual pleasure from one's beau, and the differing approaches to sexting.

A particular scene that resonated with us was the conversation with the parents, about a couple breaking up. In this riot of a scene, a son and his soon-to-be ex comes home to break the bad news to his parents and is faced with lines like "have you just lost your way?" "regressed, confused or gay?" and "for once in your life give maturity a whirl". It served as reminder on how involved our parents really are in our love life and how much added weight or expectations they also put in our relationships.

Marriage

This deep-dive into marriage sees the players tossed in a scenario of compromises, not being "cool" enough to hang out with single friends, managing households, giving up control, and arguments. Yet, we keep coming back for more, still loving our other half, and even reigniting intimacy after tucking-in the kids. Just the gold old things that keep married life going.

There's also an audience participation moment, titled "scared straight to the alter programme", but we won't spoil this gem for you!

Finding love in the twilight ages

Lastly, we get to witness the perils of divorce, loving and losing and finding love again in middle age. Or, starting all over again in our our retirement age where we find our ourselves dealing with death, loneliness, and just looking for companionship.

Overall, the witty play had us giggling and smiling throughout thanks to the entertaining performances by the cast. Andrew Marko emerged as our favourite actor in the play, thanks to his killer performance and versatility in characters.

Rebekah Sangeetha Dorai charmed us with her impeccable stage presence, while Benjamin Chow and Misha Paule Tan impressed with their belting and acting skills. Sets were also beautifully created and creatively used to depict a bar, a house, a car and more all at once.

Needless to say with the topic of discussion, and not having a singular focused plot line, the script of the play is generally quite stereotypical of relationships and sexes. This is probably what makes it so relatable to the masses.

We also noted that there were only one of two scenes depicting a LGBTQIA+ relationship. We wished that in these modern times, we could see a little bit more representation in this area in the future.

I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change runs till April 30, 2023, at Alliance Française Theatre, 1 Sarkies Rd, Singapore 258130. Tickets are priced from $50.

ALSO READ: Upcoming theatre shows to catch in the first half of 2023

This article was first published in City Nomads.