IT DOES AND IT DOESN’T
A moving exploration of one couple’s life together, I Do! I Do! is an intimate two-character Broadway musical that spans half a century as it focuses on the ups and downs of spouses Agnes and Michael — home life, childbearing, emotional quarrels, and empty-nesting. I wonder that many people have never seen this delightfully simple musical. Kicking off its 2024-25 season, Revolution Stage Company‘s production, which opened last weekend and continues for a short run through October 27, is very entertaining but with caveats.
Based on the lovely sentimental Jan de Hartog play The Fourposter, Tom Jones (book and lyrics) and Harvey Schmidt (music) — of The Fantasticks fame — created a score filled with gorgeous and beloved tunes: “Together Forever,” “My Cup Runneth Over,” and “Where Are the Snows.” Opening on Broadway in 1966 starring powerhouse duo Robert Preston and Mary Martin, this quaintly charming musical perfectly captures all the joys and adversities that any marriage of longevity can include.
Beginning in the fin de siècle of Victorian America, Michael and Agnes go from wedding night to parenthood to arguing to forlorn doubt and back to the love. But director Roger Welch, a Coachella Valley newcomer who stepped in to helm this production), does not use a sense of a period or a timeline, which makes it difficult to decipher what era this couple is in. We still have the traditional two awkward virgins on their honeymoon and the old-fashioned traditional roles of husband and wife, but many of Emma Bibo‘s costume pieces from an earlier time confuse as to which years Michael and Agnes are actually living in.
Since both Francesca Amari and Gary Powers are older and more suited for the end of their characters’ lifespans, Act I opens with them welcoming the audience to their 40th anniversary party. Through dialog and song (“All the Dearly Beloved”) they explain that they will be re-enacting their marriage story. Yet making the entire musical a flashback takes away any of the drama because we now know that Agnes and Michael will be happy together in the end.
Clearly with a two-hander, both actors must be at the top of their game. Happily, Amari, making her RSC stage debut, has obviously done her homework. Since her age is only assumed to be young and virginal at the top of the show, Amari plays Agnes with a gentle sweetness and naivete without overacting or mugging to the back row. She gifts the audience with a perfect character arc — finding her footing in life, living in the shadow of her husband’s career, growing as a dutiful mother, and becoming a stronger more independent personality — giving this talented actress time to show off her full range. When she fantasizes about being a sassy, saucy, divorcée who parties all night she sings the outstanding “Flaming Agnes.” And then, Ms. Amari doubles down on her acting skills as she sings the tender ballad “What Is a Woman?” Both musical moments received the loudest cheers and longest applause.
Revolution Stage Company co-founder Powers has a pleasant voice and thoroughly enjoys his time singing in the spotlight. He seems to have trouble with dialog at times — grasping for words, adding filler laughter, and seemingly improvising a bit. He doesn’t have the solid well-rehearsed arc that Amari does. There is a shallow feeling of acting that Powers falls into comfortably; he doesn’t seem to change at all in 40 years. Although he sailed through many songs not connecting to his lyrics, Powers does drive the comedy full force in a hilarious “The Father of the Bride.”
Mr. Welch was Producing Artistic Director of the Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre in Idaho, so he knows what he’s doing. The comedic tempo flows very well. While some staging moments look rushed and unrehearsed, the songs are clean, showing off how easily both performers move.
With just a piano, musical director Michael Cundari capably handles the score. The set is supposed to center solely in their bedroom dominated by the large fourposter bed in the center, but designer Miguel Lauro doesn’t use that lovely piece of furniture, a symbol of the couple’s “solid as an oak” marriage. While generic, the set is extremely functional. The sound is by Kelly McGuire, and stage manager Mariah Pryor does the lights.
photos by Nathan Cox
I Do! I Do!
Revolution Stage Company
611 S. Palm Canyon Drive in Downtown Palm Springs, near Revivals
Sat. Oct 19 @ 7
Tue. Oct 22 @ 7
Wed. Oct 23 @ 7
Sat. Oct 26 @ 7
Sun. Oct 27 @ 7
ends on October 27, 2024
for tickets ($35-$45), visit Revolution
