Review Contributed by Shir Filler. Ms. Filler is a Professor of English and the Humanities Department Chair at North Country Community College. Before that, she was the Editor of the Lake Placid News. Shir Filler contributed this review at the request of The Depot Theatre.
FIRST DATE, directed by Beth Glover at the Depot Theatre in Westport, is a hilarious and imaginative take on the scenario of, you guessed it, a first date. Over the course of one evening, Casey and Aaron alternately interest and annoy each other with fun repartee, but the best part is that the audience gets to experience the angst each one suffers from the warring voices in their own heads: He’s too boring. She’s not Jewish. What if he’s the one? Why can’t I just get back with my ex? What if I’ll never find the one? Does ordering a salad mean I’m not a real man?
When I opened the program, I saw that the parts were Aaron (Aaron Penzel), Casey (Tiara Whaley), Man #1 (Khalid Rivera), Woman #1 (Amy Fitts), and Man #2 (Vincent DiGeronimo). Because they weren’t named, I assumed the last three were bit parts. Boy, was I wrong. Woman #1 smoothly and believably transformed from a diner at another table to Aaron’s dead Jewish grandmother to Casey’s sister who set her up on this date to Aaron’s ex-girlfriend. Man #1 went from Woman #1’s date to the gay-best-friend-emergency-bad-date call to Aaron’s lady-killer best friend, and Man #2 went from bartender/waiter to Christian father to bad boy ex-boyfriend to lounge singer. And those are just the highlights of their many metamorphoses, all of which were accomplished with just a shawl, a hat, or a jacket – and, of course, a brilliant song. The songs, some of which are “Bailout #1”, “Awkward Pause”, “The Check” (as in who should pay it), and “The Things I Never Said”, are funny, touching, and contradictory, illustrating the internal struggles many of us go through – especially under the enormous pressure we can put on that date to be THE one.
FIRST DATE at the Depot Theatre runs through July 13: Thursdays and Fridays at 5, Saturdays at 7:30, and Sunday 3 pm matinee. I highly recommend it — though maybe not for your first date.
(Images provided by The Depot Theatre.)
Aaron Jodoin pulling triple duty as musical director, conductor, and keyboardist. He is joined by a powerhouse trio of Jane Boxall on drums, Andy Tompkins on guitar, and Felix Haskins on bass.