I Do I Do at The Village Theatre

“I Do! I Do!” is a musical that takes place in one house with two actors set in the 1890’s through the 1940’s. With no set or subplots or choruses to distract us, it’s no wonder the leads have historically been played by such greats as Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, Carol Burnett and Rock Hudson, and Mary Martin and Robert Preston.

Kendra Kassebaum and Peter Saide, the two-actor crew of I Do I Do // © 2019 Tracy Martin, Property of Village Theatre.

The Village Theatre’s Kendra Kassebaum and Peter Saide are up to the challenge. Throughout the show they swirl around the stage like Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire needing only their expressiveness and talent to keep the audience captivated.

Opening night at the Village Theatre was packed. I was sure I was the youngest one in there, and I’m in my mid-30s. If I hadn't been there, I’m sure my friend in her 40s would have been the youngest one in the Village Theatre.

It makes sense: I think this show would mean more to someone who has more experiences in common with the characters. As two divorcées, we were probably not the intended audience.

This show starts where most love stories end: at the wedding. It takes off through the blissful early years of marriage, transporting the audience to a simpler time when men wore sock garters and women would give anything for an ostrich feather hat, and when people enjoyed musical interludes and linear plots.

After the first act I felt like I needed to go watch a particularly bloody episode of Game of Thrones.

© 2019 Tracy Martin, Property of Village Theatre.

Things get a bit grittier as the show goes on and the couple navigates the difficulties of life that most of us heartbreakingly discover. It's almost uncomfortably poignant and real at times, and also really infuriating. I was surprised that someone didn't throw something at the male lead when he sang, “Unfortunate... maybe, but changeable it's not. Men of 40 go to town. Women go to pot.” By someone I mean me.

I was also disappointed at his wife's stereotypical payback of spending all his money. Ultimately they decide that “nobody's perfect” and it's really each other that they want despite all their shortcomings.

We travel through 50 years of marriage with the two of them, watching as they age, fashions change, children get older, and they grow and overcome together.

The show hits another cliche when Agnes gets empty nest syndrome. I'm not unsympathetic to this, but it did seem like an overstatement that, “To be a woman means being lonely. That's why a woman is only alive when in love.” It puts things in perspective to remember that this is probably 1930-something, when women didn't have a lot of opportunities for meaning and fulfillment outside of taking care of their families.

This wholesome classic tenderly lets us into the home of a couple with all their quirks and inside jokes and challenges. It is a moving story of a whole relationship, and a good reminder to be grateful for the time we live in.

It is short on surprises and heavy on gender stereotypes. Go for the impressive singing, not for the plot twists. But hey, “nobody's perfect”! In the end I’m left wondering if all plays aren’t about only two people. Isn’t the rest just background noise? And where can I get an Ostrich feather hat?