According to “I Love You Because,” the way people take their coffee speaks volumes about them.
Likewise, a person’s opinion of Pride and Prejudice ought to be quite telling as well. But Pride and Prejudice purists and British lit haters alike could find something and someone to love in “I Love You Because,” a modern-day, musical retelling of the classic Jane Austen tale.
The musical, staged in Shanley Pavilion this weekend by Lovers & Madmen, takes the familiar characters of the age-old romance and turns them on their heads:Gender roles are reversed, as Mr. Darcy becomes “Marcy Fitzwilliams” (Rachel Shapiro) and Elizabeth Bennett becomes “Austin Bennett” (Corey Moss). Austin, who writes greeting cards, has just broken up with his girlfriend when he meets Marcy, a photographer also reeling after a breakup. Brought together thanks to JDate (one of many blatantly modern additions to the classic tale), the two gradually become involved in an honest, modern-day version of a relationship, despite their polar-opposite personalities.
Providing comic relief are actuary Diana Bingley (Mia Weinberger) and free spirit Jeff Bennett (Jonny Stein), “friends with benefits” trying to define their relationship without destroying it.
While the characters themselves stumble through love, director Jesse Rothschild created a cast with pitch-perfect chemistry. Rachel Shapiro’s Marcy, alternately heart-wrenching and lighthearted, remained engaging and completely believable throughout the show, aided by her effortless singing. Her conflicting desires for both independence and partnership create a truly dynamic character; after a turning-point night spent together, Corey Moss as Austin serenades Marcy with “Maybe We Just Made Love,” making the audience fall head over heels for both characters alike.
Meanwhile, Jonny Stein as Jeff made the audience fall in love with love, using his spot-on comedic timing and thorough honesty. Together with Mia Weinberger as Diana, the couple’s funniness truly got to shine in a particular Act One song, “Just Friends,” highlighting the blurred boundaries between casual and exclusive relationships. Allie Parris as the “NYC Woman,” a part calling for the portrayal of multiple roles, stood out with her distinct brand of slapstick humor. Even the well-constructed and believable set brought the audience completely into the romantic world of New York (despite its location in a venue often bemoaned by set designers for its challenging layout).
The musical’s departures from the antiquated tropes of Pride and Prejudice created a refreshing new perspective on how love really works. For audience members in the throes of singledom, the play may have incited positive feelings resembling those of the warm-and-fuzzy “in love” variety. Those blissful sentiments ended abruptly, however, with the curtain call, perhaps leaving viewers more than a bit disillusioned with the often superficial (or nonexistent) limbo of college romance.
But for fans of honest, not overly sentimental romantic comedies with a heart, this production struck a resonant chord between funny and poignant, as well as serious and cheesy – more than can be said for most run-of-the-mill offstage romantic encounters.
-Maggie Gorman
