At its sarcastic, slapstick heart, “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” is a date flick of a musical.

Feet planted in the kiddie pool, tongue planted in cheek, the love spoken of here is a stereotypical one. Laughs are doled out by the dozen in this comedic musical revue. The skits and songs in this two-hour romp start with a first date and end with a funeral-parlor pickup line. An arc of vignettes takes us from break-ups to marriage vows to kids … you get the picture.

The show is the longest-running production in Colorado theater history, thanks to its last run at the Garner-Galleria Theatre. Now it returns to the Garner’s cozy, put-your-drink-on-the-table space. The show’s topic, dating and everything after are perfect for a drinks-and-theanight out like this. It’s a simple set, and the gradient-oriented lighting scheme takes us back to the early 1990s, which is where, on occasion, the dialogue takes us, as well.

The script shows its age around the edges: a reference to Sharon Stone and “Basic Instinct” here, a mention of the land-line costs of calling long distance there. Sure, we get a little bit of Broncos love in there along with a Tebowing or two, but the line between contemporary and nostalgia is real.

In the meantime, the show is funny and fun, and the quick pacing of the first act makes it easy to turn off your brain, while the more thoughtful, slower second act brings the audience in close on questions of what it means to love, have loved and be in love.

The small cast — Daniel Langhoff, Robert Michael Sanders, Lauren Shealy and Shannan Steele — each assume many roles in the two dozen or so pieces.

Sanders does Rodney Dangerfield as good as Rodney does Dangerfield in the “Satisfaction Guaranteed” skit, about a law firm specializing in between-the-sheets cases. Sanders hits a post-orgasmic, goofy, cross-eyed moment with an eye-bulge that remains one of the performance’s lasting images.

Shealy’s voice and stage presence stand out. She owns the stage on her solos and lights it up on the ensemble pieces.

Langhoff’s dry wit finds a home here, particularly in “On the Highway of Love.” His deadpan delivery of the song’s opening line earned a 25-second laugh-of-the-night from the audience during a recent performance.

Steele is at her most believable when she plays more mature lovers, whether she’s the mother in the hilarious, sarcastically peppy “Hey There Single Guy/Gal” or she’s Rose Ritz, the recent divorcée exploring loss while she records her first dating video profile.

Remember dating videos?

Half of the four fortunately few ballads in “I Love You” feel flat and uncomfortable, like you walked into the wrong party. The notable exception: A second-act song between a husband and wife who have been together many years, “Shouldn’t I Be Less In Love With You.”

“I Love You” asks the questions we’ve all heard before: Where are all the folk worth dating? What if we disappoint our parents? What if we have kids and can’t relate to our friends anymore? We’ve heard them before, yes, and we’ll laugh at the answers again.

Joe Murphy: jmurphy@denverpost.com or on Twitter: twitter.com/denverpostjoe

“I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” **1/2 (out of four stars)

Date-night musical. At the Garner-Galleria Theatre, Denver Center for Performing Arts, 14th and Curtis streets. Starring Daniel Langhoff, Robert Michael Sanders, Lauren Shealy and Shannan Steele. 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays, 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, through Aug. 19. Tickets $39-$45. denvercenter.org or 303-893-4100.

THIS WEEKEND’S THEATER OPENINGS:

Lake Dillon Theatre Company’s “Sylvia”

Opening Thursday, March 1, through March 25: The story of restless empty-nesters Greg and Kate, who have have moved to Manhattan after 22 years of child-raising in the suburbs. Greg’s career as a financial trader is winding down, while Kate’s career as a public-school English teacher is beginning to offer her more opportunities. Greg brings home a stray dog he found in the park that he names Sylvia, who becomes a major bone of contention between husband and wife.



Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 6:30 p.m. Sundays.



176 Lake Dillon Dr., Dillon, 970-513-9386 or lake dillon’s home page

Lincoln Center Presents’ “100 Years of Broadway”

Opening Thursday, March 1, through March 3: Direct from New York, five Broadway veterans perform hit songs from musicals such as “Phantom of the Opera” “Les Misèrables,” “Jersey Boys,” “Mamma Mia” and “Chicago.” Scheduled to perform are Sandra Joseph, Lawrence Clayton, Ron Bohmer, Andrea Rivette and Chuck Wagner.



Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday



At the Magnolia Theatre, 417 W. Magnolia St., Fort Collins, 970-221-6730 or lctix’s home page

Aurora Fox’s “Xanadu”

Opening Friday, March 2, through April 1: Based on the 1980 film starring Olivia Newton John, this 2007 Broadway adaptation about an artist and his encounter with muses is not your mamma’s Xanadu. It pays homage to the original story and music, but gives it a much-needed reworking. We’re talking roller skates, short shorts and mythological mayhem. It’s kind of like “The Wedding Singer” on roller skates. There are a limited number of onstage couch seats for each performance. Those seats must be reserved by phone.



Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays



9900 E. Colfax Ave., Aurora, 303-739-1970 or the aurora fox’s home page

Vintage Theatre’s “Six Degrees of Separation”

Opening Friday, March 2, through April 1: In John Guare’s acclaimed play, two married socialites find their view of the world changed when a young man takes advantage of their preconceptions. Flan and Ouisa Kittredge have built successful careers as art dealers catering to Manhattan’s upper crust. One evening a young black man named Paul appears at their door claiming to be a close friend of their children, and that he’s just been mugged. Flan and Ouisa invite him in, and they are immediately taken by Paul’s intelligence and charm. But they soon discover Paul is a con artist, and his actions have serious consequences on their marriage.



Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sundays



2119 E. 17th Ave., 303-839-1361 or vintage’s home page

Cherry Creek Theatre’s “Proof”

Opening Friday, March 2, through March 25: David Auburn’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play opens on the eve of Catherine’s 25th birthday. She’s a troubled young woman who has spent years caring for her brilliant but unstable father, a famous mathematician. Following his death, she must deal with her own volatile emotions; the arrival of her estranged sister, Claire; and the attentions of Hal, a former student who hopes to find valuable work in the 103 notebooks her father left behind. Her most difficult problem of all: How much of her father’s madness – or genius – has she inherited? The cast includes Kate Avallone as Catherine, Michael Bouchard as Hal, Erik Sandvold as Robert and Emily Paton Davies as Claire.



Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays; 6:30 p.m. Sundays.



Shaver Ramsey Showroom, 2414 E. 3rd Ave., Denver, 303-800-6578 or cherry creek theatre’s home page

73rd Avenue Theatre Company’s “Hamlet”

Opening Friday, March 2, through March 25: This will be the final production for the 73rd Avenue Theatre Company at its present location, which is scheduled to be demolished afterward by the city of Westminster. “Hamlet” is perhaps the most psychologically complex and intensely debated play ever written. It focuses on the deliberations of a doomed prince who is commanded by a ghost to avenge his father’s murder Major changes have been made for this adaptation. Several roles traditionally played by male actors have been re-envisioned as female; some roles are doubled (notably the actor playing Claudius will also play the King’s Ghost), and an extra character has been added who interacts directly with the audience as a narrator. The characters maintain Shakespeare’s original iambic pentameter, but the narrator speaks in poetically plain English.



Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 2:30 p.m. Sundays



7287 Lowell Blvd., Westminster, 720-276-6936 or 73rd avenue’s home page

“Then Sean Met Khalid the Musical”

Opening Friday, March 2, through March 11: This contemporary musical tells the story of a middle-class white family who adopt a black baby, Sean White. Life seems “normal” for Sean until he comes across an interview between Sean Hannity and the late Dr. Khalid Abdul Muhammad. The characters are startlingly relatable; the scenes are uncomfortably close to home. The show tackles veiled racism and white privilege in an accessible way without preaching. The musical was inspired by scholars: Khalid Abdul Muhammad, Amos N. Wilson, Joy DeGruy, Sistah Soulja and Eduardo-Bonilla Silva.



Showtimes: 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 3 p.m. Sundays.



At the We’re House, 5763 Arapahoe Ave., Suite P, 646-246-1747 or the hiphipheredia home page

Adams Mystery Playhouse’s “Murder at an Irish Wake”

Opening Friday, March 2, through March 31: Interactive dinner-theater comedies staged by Marne Interactive Productions. The show entertainment starts 30 minutes before dinner and continues into and beyond. Here, Mr. Limerick has died and we are there for his wake, with singing and dancing and lots of Irish merry-making. But, things take a turn for the worse, and soon you’re solving a crime. Appropriate for all ages.



Showtimes: 6:30 p.m. doors and dinner most Fridays-Saturdays



Presented by Marne Interactive Productions, 2406 Federal Blvd., Denver, 80211, 303-455-1848 or adams’ home page

National touring production of “American Idiot”

Opening Tuesday, March 6, through March 11: This Broadway musical built around the music of the punk band Green Day tells the loose story of three lifelong friends who must choose between their dreams and the safety of suburbia. Songs include “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” “21 Guns,” “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” “Holiday” and the title track. Denver Post theater critic John Moore was unimpressed. He wrote of the Broadway production: “It left me cold. Using only the slightest of narrative structures, we follow three aimless suburban stoner frat-punks for a year of sex, drugs and, oddly, not a single note of ‘Dookie.’ Employing no sense of humor or irony, “American Idiot” celebrates malaise, addiction and misdirected anger by the generation that rose up in affluent ambivalence during the senior Bush’s presidency.” Here’s the full review . The show runs 1 hour, 40 minutes with no intermission.



Showtimes: 8 p.m. Tuesday-Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sundays.



At the Buell Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 14th and Curtis streets, 303-893-4100 or the denver center’s home page

Complete theater listings, however you like them

Go to our complete list of every currently running production in Colorado, including summaries, run dates, addresses, phones and links to every company’s home page. Or check out our listings by company or by opening date

Openings compiled by John Moore, Special to The Denver Post