Listening to Liz McConahay Wanfried as Haley Walker deliver Theresa Rebeck's sparkling dialogue in Bad Dates, now onstage at Centenary Stage Company, is like dishing some dirt with a really good friend, something that applied to the women of various ages in the audience at this past Sunday matinee!
This delightful one-woman play recounts late thirty-something Haley's attempts to get back to dating after a divorce and a move to New York from Austin, Texas. A single parent/waitress turned restaurateur when her employers, members of the Romanian mob, go to prison for money laundering. Her qualifications for the position seem to be rather deficient, but according to Haley, she appears to be a restaurant "idiot savant." Who knew?
The plot, such as it is, focuses on Haley's preparations for and hilarious reports of her various dates, from a guy who talks to bugs to a health nut to a gay law professor and, five years after meeting him, to a man she dismissed at first because he reminded her of a cad in the classic Joan Crawford film, Mildred Pierce! Interspersed are a running commentary on her shoe fetish—she owns 600 pairs of shoes and is especially proud of a pair of Chanel pumps she scored for $30—and the fashion show she provides as she dons and discards a plethora of outfits (masterfully gathered from local consignment shops by Lisa Zinni), much to the audience's delight (and rather audible judgment).
The marvelous set designed by Bob Phillips immediately telegraphs just who Haley is: a messy shoe collector who appears to be a case of arrested development (the lavender walls and a frou-frou Shabby Chic bedspread and furniture) seem more suited to her 13-year-old daughter Vera). The shoe boxes threaten to take over the place; they are stashed in the armoire, in a storage bench, under the bed and in a shoe bag hanging on the back of the door. She takes some out and admires them and then, addressing the audience, seeks their opinion too. It's delightful and draws us immediately and intimately into her story!
Carl Wallnau's taut direction keeps things moving along without feeling rushed or artificial. Wanfried has memorized what feels like thousands of lines and delivers them very convincingly and naturally, and with nary a flub, too. And her comedic timing is impeccable! Colin Whitley has provided music ("Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" was my favorite) appropriate to romance and its anticipation.
While one might expect the women in the audience to connect with Haley's escapades and disappointments, many of the men responded with laughter just as hearty as their female companions'. The humanity of Rebeck's character connects with theatergoers of both genders, which is, perhaps, its greatest strength.
So if you love shoes and want to dish some dirt about dating and men, get on over to beautiful new Sitnik Theater at the Lackland Center, 715 Grand Avenue, on the Centenary College campus in Hackettstown. But hurry up, for Bad Dates runs only through March 6. For information and tickets, call the box office at 908.979.0900 or visit www.centenarystageco.org.
By the way, if you go to the Sunday matinee, get there at about 12:30 PM and have buffet brunch in the Lackland Center. It's a bargain: only $8!
