For the week of February 13 - 19, 2002

Cherie Kessler and Ryan Weaver in "I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change," at the nexStage Theatre. Courtesy photo by Kevin Johnson

Mating game issues are highlighted in musical

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By DANA DUGAN
Express Staff Writer

The New Theatre Company has hit pay dirt in two remarkable ways. Firstly, it was able to obtain the rights to the hysterical musical revue, "I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change."

The play will be mounted at the nexStage Theatre, in Ketchum, Feb. 29-24, and March 1-2.

And, secondly, Helen Hudson, a professional actress and singer with more than 20 years experience on stage, moved here last November as a direct result of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. More on that later.

The play, a collections of scenes and songs, is now in its sixth straight year in New York and is off-Broadway’s longest running musical. Written by Joe DiPietro and Jimmy Rogers, the play covers modern-day mating game issues, including dating, romance, marriage, lovers, husbands, wives, and in-laws. In other words, unless you’re a hermit, something for everyone.

Four actors—David Blampied, who also is directing, Cherie Kessler, Ryan Weaver and Helen Hudson—play the 20 roles.

Blampied and Kessler are both well known to theater audiences in the valley. Blampied is the artistic director of NTC, and has performed in many productions over the past 20 years. Kessler is one of the original and current Vaurnettes, and appeared in Sun Valley in "The Taffetas" last year.

Weaver is a newcomer to the stage, but Hudson has one of those titillating bios. She is in the Guinness Book of World Records for having sung the National Anthem in every single Major League baseball stadium in the country.

She and her husband, John Weaver, moved here last fall with their two young daughters, instead of to Boston. Their scheduled departure date fell on Sept 10, but weather delays kept them in a box-filled home for another night. The next morning they heard the news of the terrorist attacks and canceled their plans.

Weaver got out a map and—determined to live one time zone closer to the East coast for business purposes—drove into Idaho and ended up in Ketchum, where he saw stars. It was enough to convince them all to move here. Hudson, surprised to find herself in a small town in Idaho, is delighted about the strange turn of events.

On a whim, she auditioned for "I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change," and suddenly finds herself in demand, despite the fact that she has not appeared on stage since 1991. Before the lengthy hiatus, Hudson appeared on and off Broadway, lived in New York, Los Angeles, Nashville and Seattle. ESPN did a special on her stadium appearances, as did People magazine, who followed the story as she traveled the country singing.

She has worked with such theater luminaries as Jack O’Brien, the artistic director at San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre, Jason Robards, Jean Stapleton, and Tony Randall, and once opened on the college circuit for Billy Crystal. "I told him to stick with it, that he was pretty good." Hudson laughs at the memory. She lives for the moment, and finds that many of the moves she has made have snowballed into other things.

In fact, nearly every one of her stories ends with the line, "and it kind of snowballed from there."

If her current snowball called "I love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change," comes out as rosy as her other forays into serendipity, the valley is in for a treat.

Complementing the fun every night the cast will act out an original story submitted to them at ntcplays@cox-internet.com.

The submission can be a brief description of a special relationship moment, the first date, first kiss, or the first whatever, says NTC Director David Blampied. The cast will create a scene around the selected story, and the author will receive dinner for two at a valley restaurant.

The play runs from Feb. 19-24 and March 1-2. Tickets may be purchased at Chapter One and Atkinsons’ Market in Ketchum, and Read All About it in Hailey.

 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.