I & You: The Musical Makes Its World Premiere at Olney Theatre Center

Olney Theatre Center is currently presenting the world premiere of I & You: The Musical, a bold and emotionally resonant new work adapted from Lauren M. Gunderson's acclaimed 2014 play, with music and lyrics by Ari Afsar. Produced in co-operation with New Jersey's McCarter Theatre Center, the production runs through May 24, 2026 on the Roberts Mainstage — and it marks a rare opportunity for DC-area audiences to witness a major new musical finding its legs in real time.

The show is a two-hander set almost entirely within the cluttered, poster-covered bedroom of Caroline, a fiercely independent high school senior who has largely retreated from the world as she awaits a life-saving liver transplant. Her self-imposed isolation is abruptly interrupted when Anthony, an energetic and oddly persistent classmate, shows up uninvited to enlist her help with a last-minute class project on Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself." What begins as an unwelcome intrusion gradually becomes something far more meaningful, as two very different teenagers discover unexpected common ground in Whitman's poetry — and in each other.

Alex De Bard brings impressive range to Caroline, navigating the character's sharp wit, defensive cynicism, and underlying vulnerability with skill and emotional honesty. J. Antonio Rodriguez matches her with a performance full of warmth and exuberance, portraying Anthony as a young man whose boundless energy conceals a deeper purpose. The chemistry between the two carries the show, and their voices are a genuine pleasure — Afsar's score gives them ample opportunity to shine across 14 songs that range from punk-inflected numbers that mirror Caroline's rebellious spirit to jazz-tinged passages that speak to Anthony's musical passions. The eclectic mix of styles pulses with a coming-of-age authenticity that feels genuinely earned rather than manufactured.

The physical world of the production is equally impressive. Scenic designer Beowulf Boritt has created a bedroom that feels lived-in and revealing — every surface crammed with artwork, photographs, and personal ephemera that tells the story of a young woman whose inner world is anything but small. The lighting and projection design work in tandem to expand that world as the story builds toward its climax, ultimately transforming the intimate set into something far more expansive and emotionally charged.

Director Sarah Rasmussen guides the piece with a steady hand, and the five-piece live band lends warmth and texture throughout. The production is not without the rough edges one sometimes finds in a world premiere still in development, but what's undeniable is the strength of its ambitions and the power of its performances. Opening night audiences were reportedly on their feet, moved by a story that uses Whitman's timeless meditation on individuality, connection, and mortality as a lens through which two teenagers — and the audience — come to see the world a little differently.

I & You: The Musical plays through May 24, 2026, at Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, MD.