[NEohioPAL]Berko review: BAD DATES (CPH)

[Roy Berko]

WHERE DID THEY GET ALL THOSE SHOES FOR CPH’S ‘BAD
DATES’?

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

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‘BAD DATES,’ now on stage at the Cleveland Play House,
isn’t so much a bad date as it is an unmemorable one. 
On the way home from the theatre I could remember
laughing at the goings-on of the main character who is
a restaurant manager, shoe connoisseur, mother and
frustrated divorced woman named Haley Walker.  What I
laughed at, or why I was neither bored nor entranced,
weren’t part of my active memory bank.  What is there
is the image of all the shoes in Haley’s apartment,
and all the footwear piled in the closets of the other
apartments pictured and wondering, “Where did they get
all those shoes?”

If the major thing I can remember is the shoes, then
something had to be off-kilter.  It’s not usually the
purpose of a play to leave  a single visual. That is,
unless it’s a play about Imelda Marcos and we learned
that the footwear were signs of her extravagance while
the peasants didn’t have enough food.  Or, trying to
get us to  accept that ‘SEX AND THE CITY’ is now in
reruns and we’ll never hear Kerry Bradshaw moaning
afresh about paying $400 for Manolo Blahnik’s latest
footwear designs. 

Okay, Roy think hard...what did you learn as Haley
related a series of tales from her past as she tried
on shoes, changed clothes, and had one-sided
conversations with her daughter?  Let’s see, I learned
that there is a bizarre social ritual between men and
women that is the basis for the continuation of the
human species.   I learned that hearing about some
else’s bad dates is better than having to experience
them myself.  I learned that Haley’s path toward
finding Mr. Right was littered with encounters with
colorful suitors such as Cholesterol Man and Bug Guy. 
I gained insight into how women fret about the
“perfect outfit” and despair over a poorly-fitting
pair of Chanel pumps.   I gained a new insight into
Joan Crawford and her famous “do me” pumps.   And, I
was exposed to the concept that “Maybe men and women
were not put on this earth to torture each other. 
Maybe they were put on earth because they need each
other.”   Hey, maybe there was a message, but what was
it?

Hawking, the solo performer, established a rapport
with the audience by addressing us with a welcoming
smile and attitude.   Though adept at delivering the
author’s dryly witty observations about human
interaction, she is also capable of holding attention
in the most serious moments.  In spite of this, at
times she seems a little more actress than person,
especially when she isolates syllables in words and
over-articulates words and phrases.

Narelle Sissons has provided an attractive New York
apartment, while Miranda Hoffman's wide array of
costumes clearly represents Haley at each point in the
play's roller coaster of events. 

CAPSULE JUDGMENT:  There is nothing really great or
terrible about CPH’S ‘BAD DATE.’  That’s both the good
news and the bad news.  Well, for me there is some bad
news…I’m still wondering why nowhere in the program
are thanks offered to the source of all that footwear.
 Well, I guess I did get fixated.  Too bad it wasn’t
whatever message there was in the play.

FOOTnote (sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun): And so
the curtain drops on the Peter Hackett era at CPH. 
‘BAD DATES’ is the last of the plays selected by the
departed CPH Artistic Director.   As had been the case
in recent past seasons, this year’s script choices
were problematic.  It is now time to forget the past
and move forward.  Next season’s offerings are the
brain-child of Michael Bloom, the new Artistic
Director.  I look forward to next season with renewed
hope for The Cleveland Play House.

For tickets to  ‘BAD DATES’ which runs through May 15
in the  Drury Theatre of the Cleveland Play House call
216-795-7000 or go on-line to
www.clevelandplayhouse.com. 


Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.

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