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A New World (but not THAT world!)
4th August
2008
By Hannah Pietsch
Sometimes, the worst thing about being a theatre aficionado is that
you’re always watching the same shows over and over again.
 But
you’ve never met Austin. In fact, you’ve probably never even heard
of him, as he’s pretty new on the scene. He’s a huge geek who loves
to sit in coffee shops but can’t bring himself to order a coffee in
case the barista doesn’t make it the way he likes. He works as a
greeting card writer – pretty stock standard stuff. “Life is like a
seesaw. It’s a lot more fun with someone else.” Yep, that’s his. But
despite this, he’s pretty endearing. He believes in true love, and
adores the girlfriend he has placed on top of a pretty high
pedestal. Hang on – ex-girlfriend.
Marcy, on the other hand, is what you would call a free spirit. She
dresses bohemian and joins clubs that have names like the Young New
York Artists Appreciating Other Artists Foundation (you know,
YNYAAOAF). As a photographer, she describes her job as “trying to
capture the beauty of the human spirit”. She hates routine and
leaves pretty much everything in her life up to fate. And, given
that she’s just broken up with her 27th boyfriend, you
couldn’t exactly call her lucky in love.
 Then
there’s Jeff. Jeff is a bit of an idiot. He’s Austin’s older
brother, although his maturity level is probably about twenty years
behind his younger sibling (his idea of a great time is getting the
high score on Ms Pac-Man). He’s also hilarious. Unfortunately for
Jeff, this is not necessarily intentional. He considers himself to
be a serious ladies man and a serious commitment-phobe … but maybe
the right woman could change his mind after all. Or the wrong woman.
That’d be Diana, the perfectly clichéd actuary. (What’s an actuary?)
She’s organised, uptight, and lives her life by numbers. Unlike her
somewhat flighty housemate Marcy, she is convinced that life needs
to be planned and mapped out every step of the way. And after one
too many rebound relationships that inevitably fall in a heap, she
knows that all she wants from a guy now is some good old-fashioned
sex. Doesn’t she?
The guy who works in the coffee shop is perpetually amused by the
goings-on of these four. He actually looks a lot like the
chilled-out waiter from the Chinese restaurant down the road … and
the landlord, and the bartender at O’Denneheys. Come to think of it,
the waitress at O’Denneheys is a dead ringer for the girl who works
in the coffee shop too. And a number of other people who pop up
around the place. Freaky.
You’re probably pretty well-acquainted with Grizabella, Oliver,
Belle and Valjean by now. Wouldn’t it be great to meet some new
people?
 I
Love You Because
is the story of four people, recently burned by love and sworn off
relationships. They meet, and of course hijinks ensue. The formula
is as familiar as an episode of Friends, but like the hit TV program
it just happens to make an infectious, entertaining, and incredibly
funny show.
But if you’re a theatre-goer, one of the best things about I Love
You Because is that unless you were lucky enough to see it off
Broadway or purchase a CD from Middle Eight before they sold out a
couple of weeks ago, you’ll get to join an excited crowd on opening
night and see a musical that you’ve never even heard of before
(after a free champagne, of course). Plus, it’s a fairly safe bet
that you haven’t seen many shows that have the word cunnilingus in
the script. Or penis pump, for that matter …
I Love You Because opens on Friday 8 August at the Cromwell Road
Theatre.
See What’s On for booking
details. |