Haley's Comment


Reviewed 10/28/05

From overly-heightened marital aspirations to humble dating woes, Arizona Theatre Company’s second offering of the season, Theresa Rebeck’s Bad Dates, leaps across the pond and forward to modern times. We have been invited into one of the two bedrooms in the luxurious Manhattan apartment of single mom restaurateur Haley, a Texas transplant who for seven years has sacrificed sex for childrearing, and now that her rock-blasting daughter is a teenager, has decided to dip the toes of her $400 Jimmy Choos into the dating pool. We discover as she does just how many torpedoes, sharks, and piranhas are waiting there for her.

This one-woman show, perkily directed by Aaron Posner, is a sweeter, simpler, less cynical Sex in the City that asks us to enjoy spending time with this Chatty Cathy as she tries to regain her femininity. As performed by the energetic Erika Rolfsrud, this is a pleasant evening chronicling three nights on three different dates marked by three different sets of underwear, hundreds of clothing options and pairs of shoes, and a twist that moves the play into the whimsical realms of mystery. Rebeck’s script is full of wit, charm, and truisms. Her Haley is not an intellectual, but a real woman trying to get along in a world just slightly out of her control. In other words, empathy is easy as this charmingly frank, perfectly endearing woman chats us up for 90 minutes without an intermission.

One-person shows live and die on the talent of the actor and their ability to successfully bond with the audience. Where Bob Sorenson pulled off ATC’s previous one-person effort by effortlessly embodying 40 different characters, here Rebeck and Posner ask Rolfsrud to speak directly to the audience, conversing with us as though it was perfectly natural to have 400+ people sitting in your master bedroom with you as you dish the dirt about men, share your hopes and dreams, strip to your skivvies, and try to decide on outfits. Posner and Rolfsrud work with Haley, finding her manic moments and frailties. Rolfsrud handles her direct conversing with the audience in a completely believable way. Whether she’s frantically tearing through the apartment in search of shoes or standing front and center to relate another heartbreak, the show is always pleasantly enjoyable.

Notice I didn’t say inherently dramatic. There is a section near the end in which a hinted-at bit of drama erupts, but after everything that precedes it, this ending feels more forced than dramatic. The strongest part of this show is when we are being folksy with Haley. It’s the clever chatter, the earnest humor, and the heartfelt observations that make this a fun production.

William Bloodgood’s scenic design is a faithful recreation of the type of to-die-for apartment New Yorkers dream of, right down to the ironic view of the airshaft. Rick Paulson’s lighting is effective, and Sam Fleming’s costumes are well designed. Brian Jerome Peterson’s sound design is strong, and has a few textual flourishes that are nicely handled.

This is a great performance of a pretty good work that may be a bit overproduced, but is still a worthy choice for an evening in the theatre. There’s no spectacle here, just a fun night out with the girl.

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