Bistro Award-winning Open-ing Doors Theatre, a reliable source of young energy for old shows, strikes again and strikes it rich with I Love My Wife. They’re mostly sure-footed presenting this look at stumbling, tip-toeing married couples seeking to (maybe) broaden their sex lives. The show aims at the funnybone, not the erogenous zone. It’s more about the score than the score, meaning that songs are the main, delicious course, served with bubbly energy and pep. The “personality-plus” two-man onstage band was a plus: singing commentary on the “action” (or lack thereof), lively pianist Ted Kociolek was a key player and plucky bassist Dennis Michael Keefe slyly earned laughs.

Some potential laughs and reactions were lost when pacing occasionally felt like a bang-bang-bang speed drill; as with real-life sex, some moments should be relished, not rushed. Focus on eager-beaver wives and cocky men kept things perky and perking. The character of Alvin, especially, needed to be more comically neurotic about the erotic (not ideally cast, talented Billy Ernst was more hesitant than quirky, though quite likeable). Cy Coleman’s zingy music, so happily married to the smart lyrics and (here truncated) script by Michael Stewart: great to hear live with a personable company. No scenery, few props, lotsa fun.

Rob Lester
Cabaret Scenes
May 29, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org