It’s autumn. That means football season, the World Series, shorter days, cooling temperatures, Halloween, the color orange—and the beginning of the 2024-2025 theater season!
The Revolution Stage Company in Palm Springs has opened its second season with the musical I Do! I Do! Adapted from Jan de Hartog’s play The Fourposter, it has music by Harvey Schmidt, with book and lyrics by Tom Jones; they are the creative team responsible for the long-running hit The Fantasticks.
I Do! I Do! is about the 50-year marriage of its two characters, Agnes and Michael. As in any long-term relationship, people and situations change. How the partners deal with their challenges, individually or together, is what will keep them together—or drive them part. How Agnes and Michael succeed in their not-always-smooth journey is what this musical depicts, in a wonderfully moving way.
Would I recommend that you see this Revolution Stage Company production? I do! I do! This intimate gem fits into the theater space extremely well. Miguel Lauro’s bedroom set is simple and functional, with the right touches to suggest the characters’ socioeconomic status. Mariah Pryor’s lighting enhances the production in all the right ways, while Emma Bibo’s props are great—and this is a prop-heavy production. She is also responsible for many costumes for both actors. Not only does the attire need to show the passage of time, but on occasion, it needs to be changed very quickly. My only minor quibble involves the costume worn by Agnes when she is pregnant. The size of her baby bump made me think twins were coming, and it was a surprise to hear her newborn son only weighed 6 1/2 pounds.
A musical production with only two characters requires competent, seasoned performers, and Francesca Amari, as Agnes, is sublime. Her vocals are always exceptional, and once again, she doesn’t disappoint. Her Act I response number to Michael, “Flaming Agnes,” was something to behold! Throughout the show, she displayed nuanced acting skills, hitting the bull’s-eye when she delivered “What is a Woman” in Act 2.
Gary Powers brought feeling and heart to the character of Michael. His duets with Amari were nicely blended. All the songs were written to move the story forward, with “My Cup Runneth Over” being the one that’s probably most famous on its own. Based on how people viewed life and their roles in it when this show was written in the 1960s, a few things felt dated; take Michael’s Act I song, “A Well Known Fact”—about men getting more attractive as they age, and women getting less attractive—as an example.
Michael Cundari is the musical director and provided the piano accompaniment throughout. The 18 musical numbers in the show were well-polished.
Roger Welch, the director, stages this production efficiently with good pacing while making the story of Agnes and Michael’s marriage believable. Welch brings a wealth of experience to the desert in both directing and performing; here’s hoping he will stick around for future theater projects.
I Do! I Do! is a true valentine of a musical about the marriage of Agnes and Michael—but given the time of year, this valentine has to be orange!
I Do! I Do! will be performed at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 22; Wednesday, Oct. 23; Saturday, Oct. 26; and Sunday, Oct. 27, at Revolution Stage Company, 611 S. Palm Canyon Drive, in Palm Springs. Tickets start at $24, and the show is two hours, with one 15-minute intermission. For tickets or more information, visit www.revolutionstagecompany.com.
