Lee Street to perform first musical

Published 12:00 am Thursday, September 26, 2013

Relationships are the main character in “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” which opens at the Looking Glass Artists Center’s black box theater today.

Lee Street Theatre presents the off-Broadway musical, which takes a satirical look at dating, romance, marriage, lovers, husband, wives and in-laws.

“This is the first time we’ve ever done a musical,” said Justin Dionne, the group’s managing artist director. “I’ve never directed a musical, only straight shows, but this has been fun.”

Dionne said he’s familiar with the show after seeing it performed during his time at Catawba College.

“I knew it would be great to stage in this kind of space,” he said.

Dionne said the review-style show is “very funny.”

“It’s not the same characters throughout, so the same actors play many different roles in many different scenes,” he said. “We’ve got an amazing cast of experienced local performers and their voices are fantastic.”

Dionne said the show is about how people connect, “specifically how they connect to each other through their heart.”

“It’s about the struggles they have to connect to each other and the joy they can have when they’re connecting to each other …” he said. “There have been times when I watched rehearsal and I cried from laughter and then the next minute you’ll be crying because it’s got a really poignant moment.”

Dionne said the show is a great date night getaway for couples or really anyone interested in laughing.

“I do not recommend it for kids,” he said. “It’s PG-13 – it’s got some language and some adult situations.”