“I love you.”
“You’re perfect.”
Sounds like the beginning of a lovely relationship, doesn’t it? Picture a nice couple – any age – just starting out on a meaningful connection, perhaps after a few dates, still getting to know one another. Everything is sunshine and lollipops. Until …
“Now change.”
The imperfections inherent in humans begin to show through. With the comfort of being familiar with another person comes the letting down of one’s guard, perhaps behaving as if we have no filter, no sense or sensibilities, certainly not being our best self 24/7/365. Or is that truly the issue? Is it just that the other person is highly critical, too picky, and generally hard to please?
First dates can be fun, as portrayed by Mark Erickson and Isabella Schmitz.
Anyone who recognizes the foibles of adult relationships is sure to be amused and entertained by the musical comedy I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, the next production at Sea Glass Stage Company on Hilton Head Island. Directed by Dan Franke, the show runs the weekends of February 20 to March 8 at the theatre in Coligny Plaza.
“This show is almost indescribable – there’s nothing to compare it to,” Franke said, when asked what the musical is all about. “Each scene is a snapshot of love, in or out of it, with people who are old, young, gay, straight.”
The many stories celebrate numerous facets of relationships from first meet-ups to marriage, successful pairings to comical mistakes, from moving in to moving on, with a healthy dose of kids and in-laws, family vacations, and pick-up techniques of the elders.
Interestingly, there are more than 40 characters in the production, showcasing a variety of scenes that explore many of the iterations of romantic life. Four local actors will play all those roles: Jessica Walck, who recently directed and appeared in Christmas Belles at Sea Glass; Kyle Price, who appeared in the company’s 2025 production of The 39 Steps, also directed by Walck; Mark Erickson, most recently seen in Christmas Belles as the beloved Raynerd Chisum; and Isabella Schmitz, a SCAD student who has played Elle in Legally Blonde in Savannah and is appearing in her first Sea Glass production.
Mark Erickson and Kyle Price celebrate their masculinity in the song “Because I’m a Guy.”
The stories are told in ever-changing scenes and quick vignettes, “almost like a Saturday Night Live sketch crossed with a musical revue,” Franke said. “It is delightful, because the audience isn’t sure what the next scene is going to be.”
Franke, who has performed in four productions at Sea Glass (most recently in Christmas Belles), is directing his first show for the company. “This is my first time directing anywhere in South Carolina,” he quipped. Hailing from the Chicago area, and spending some time in Tampa, Florida, Franke is a long-time actor and a former high school theatre teacher who has also directed community theatre and a few professional productions since 1999.
“As a high school director, you’re sort of a one-man show – doing costumes, building the set, making the programs, and overseeing concessions,” Franke said. “In community theatre, you get to focus only on directing. You like to have your fingers in all of it, but you enjoy the freedom that comes with having a larger team of collaborators involved in the prism of your vision.”
Demonstrating an uncomfortable first date are Jessica Walck and Kyle Price.
Of special note to Franke, his 25-year-old daughter will appear in a professional theatre production of this show this summer at Stageworks in Tampa.
Franke is joined on the production team by Bob Adams as musical director, Alex Clark as stage manager, Ashley Gonzalez as choreographer, and Craig Walck as lighting designer. Marcia Peterson returns as costume designer and procurer.
I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change cast members are, from left, Jessica Walck, Kyle Price, Mark Erickson, and Isabella Schmitz. The show runs February 20-March 8 at Sea Glass Stage at Coligny Plaza.
Performances of I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change are at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays, February 20-March 8, at the home of Sea Glass Stage Company, 1 N. Forest Beach Drive in Coligny Plaza. Tickets are available now at sgstage.org.
Sea Glass Stage Company is a nonprofit community theatre whose mission is “Connecting our community through the power and love of theatre.”