The Walnut Street Theatre’s Independence Studio on 3 season concludes with “I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change.” The musical begins with previews on April 29, opens May 1 and continues through June 29.

The musical explains everything you have ever secretly thought about dating, romance, marriage, lovers, husbands, wives, and in-laws, but were afraid to admit. It ran for more than 5,000 performances Off-Broadway and has played in theaters from London's West End to Beijing. 

The musical had its premiere at New Jersey’s American Stage Company in 1995, followed by its Off-Broadway premiere at The Westside Theatre in 1996.  After a successful 12-year run, the production closed in 2008. Showcasing the dating game, marriage, love and lust, the show has a universal appeal, having been translated into languages including Hebrew, Spanish, Dutch, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, Japanese, Korean, Italian, Portuguese, German, Catalan, Finnish, Mandarin, Norwegian and French. 

“I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change” was written by playwright and lyricist Joe DiPietro, with music composed by Jimmy Roberts.  The two also collaborated on the 2003 Off-Broadway musical, “The Thing About Men,” which the Walnut produced in 2006.  DiPietro’s work has been recognized with Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical for “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” and Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score Written for the Theatre for “Memphis.”

Christopher Sutton returns to the Walnut after his appearance as Buddy the Elf in this season’s holiday show, “Elf.”  In addition to performing in “I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change,” Sutton will tackle the role of director. He was a member of the Off-Broadway cast, and more recently director and cast member of Surflight Theatre’s production.  

Lyn Philistine, Sutton’s real-life wife, joins the cast as Woman 1 and choreographer. She was last seen on the Walnut’s stage as Maria Elena in “The Buddy Holly Story.”  She has performed on Broadway in “Gypsy” starring Bernadette Peters, as well as in the National Tours of “Monty Python’s Spamalot,” “A Christmas Story,” and “Cinderella.”   

Tickets are $35 to $45 and are available at 215-574-3550 or 215-336-1234. Tickets are also available at www.WalnutStreetTheatre.org or www.Ticketmaster.com.