Review: I & YOU: THE MUSICAL at Olney Theatre Center
Ambitious world premiere musical on stage through May 24
Photo by Teresa Castracane Photography
I & You: The Musical, premiering at Olney Theatre Center, is ambitious. It’s full of tremendous verve, emotion and promise. But it’s not without flaws.
Getting a world premiere on its feet is brave and rare. Olney and its co-producer McCarter Theatre Center are taking a bold risk to put new work in front of audiences to figure out what works and where the shortcomings are. Washington theater fans are lucky once again to experience shaping a new work that’s likely to be performed for years to come.
I & You: The Musical focuses on two very different teens. Confined to her bedroom as she awaits a life-saving liver transplant, high school senior Caroline (Alex De Bard), who disdains “fake nice” pity, has all but withdrawn from the world except for her social media posts. Then a classmate she barely recognizes shows up uninvited, eager for her artistic talent on a last-minute Walt Whitman project. Anthony’s (J. Antonio Rodriguez) chaotic energy and earnest enthusiasm clash with Caroline’s snappish and snarly demeanor (“I’m small and mighty, like a dachshund”). But as the two collaborate on the rushed poetry project, their unlikely partnership deepens into something more revealing. What begins as an unwelcome intrusion slowly becomes genuine connection, as the two work through "Song of Myself" together, develop a respect for Whitman’s “badass poetry,” and stumble toward a deeper mystery about why Anthony came looking for Caroline in the first place.
“I and this mystery here we stand,” as Whitman would say.
Photo by Teresa Castracane Photography
De Bard and Rodriguez are beautifully paired, they are charming, interesting and exude a believable whiplash teenage dichotomy: angsty anger, innocence, a keen eye for the “sexy sex” passages in Whitman’s poetry, confusion, scorn, respect, alienation and puppy-like energy. They echo Whitman:
Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)
The voices of the two are extraordinary – Ari Afsar’s score (a whopping 14 songs in the 90-minute show) highlights the strengths and beauty of the duo’s singing. I could enjoy a concert version of the production that would let Whitman’s poetry and the story unfold under De Bard and Rodriguez’s assured performances and be completely satisfied.
But that is, in part, because many of the production elements in I & You: The Musical were a distraction that took me away from the tight world of Caroline and Anthony.
There is an adage in the arts: show, don’t tell. We don’t have that luxury in this production, directed by McCarter Theatre’s Artistic Director Sarah Rasmussen. The text dictates that Caroline is so ill she requires a transplant. We’re told she’s getting sicker, but what we’re shown is a teen who energetically scampers up and down a loft bed that is a central part of Beowulf Boritt’s multilevel scenery. She casually pops a few meds every once in a while, but there’s a disconnect with the severity of her illness.
Photo by Teresa Castracane Photography
The idea behind Stefania Bulbarella’s projection design is to nod to the expansive world beyond the heart of the set -- Caroline’s room tucked upstairs in the eaves of the house and covered with posters and twinkle lights. The projections are clunky and amateurish. They are reminiscent of the earliest days of MTV videos crossed with factory-installed PC screen savers. It is especially distracting to have the projections bleeding into the walls of Caroline’s room when the point was to be beyond. At times the projections were transporting, but not often enough.
Actors were mic’d to be heard over the live five-piece band but the balance was off. With that we lose a vital intimacy and connection with the two actors. More critically, we lose key pieces of the sung dialogue. The characters share conversation, internal thoughts and Whitman’s poetry – the power of the show is in this narrative, whether spoken or sung.
There was an awkward blackout to swap out the early cardboard Walt Whitman project for one that showed more progress. For a theater of Olney’s quality this swap should have been rethought and of a technically higher caliber.
And that is the disappointment with all these missteps – Olney and the production team have the expertise and resources to pull off an amazing raise-the-roof, twirling, other-worldly, technically intricate moment in this production, yet these other important details lapsed.
Photo by Teresa Castracane Photography
In this world premiere musical Olney Theatre is revisiting Lauren M. Gunderson’s play I And You – the theatre joined with three others to present the rolling world premiere during the 2014-2015 theater season. Now, over a decade later, the music and lyrics by Ari Afsar (whose credits include American Idol and Hamilton) join with Gunderson’s book to heighten Walt Whitman’s poetry and the stylized magical realism often a hallmark of Gunderson’s work. I left the theatre with the beautiful chords and progressions echoing in my head.
I applaud the show’s ambitions but would like the work explored further. I & You: The Musical was reworked after the McCarter production in fall 2025, and I think it would benefit to be revisited after this production. Yes, we're invested in Caroline and Anthony, but the arc doesn't build correctly (or perhaps information was lost in muddied lyrics due to the sound imbalance). The conclusion felt hurried and the audience should have had time to sit with the denouement a little bit.
The bones of a powerful production are there. The Olney audience was on its feet and sniffling with emotion opening night. It will be interesting to follow the trajectory of this ambitious and promising world premiere.
Photo by Teresa Castracane Photography
Runtime: 90 minutes with no intermission
I & You: The Musical by Lauren Gunderson, with music and lyrics by Ari Afsar, and directed by Sarah Rasmussen, is presented by Olney Theatre Center in co‑production with McCarter Theatre Center by special arrangement by Alchemation. It is performed at the Roberts Mainstage, Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, Maryland 20832. The production runs through May 24, 2026, with performances Wednesdays through Sundays, including evening performances at 7:30 pm and select matinees at 1:30 pm. For tickets and schedule, accessible performance information, special events, attendance policies and further information visit the company's website.
Cast: Alex De Bard (Caroline) and J. Antonio Rodriguez (Anthony); understudies: Alexandra Lopez and Kishan Rao
Creative Team: Lauren M. Gunderson (book/adaptor), Sarah Rasmussen (director), Ari Afsar (music, lyrics), Steph Paul (movement director), Sujin Kim-Ramsey (original music direction) Bryan Perri (music supervisor), Beowulf Boritt (scenic designer), Kara Harmon (Costume Designer), Japhy Weideman (lighting designer), Elisabeth Weidner (sound designer), Stefania Bulbarella (projection designer), Kate Casalino (hair, wig and makeup designer), Julie Felise Dubiner (dramaturg), Yair Evnine and Ari Afsar (orchestrations), Sujin Kim-Ramsey and Ari Afsar (arrangements), Becky Reed (production stage manager).
Musicians: Mirika Countouris (piano/conductor), Perry Cowdery (guitar), Catherine Mikelson (cello), Yusef Chisholm (bass), Alex Aucoin (percussion)
Photo Credit: Teresa Castracane Photography
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