Irresistible One-Woman Comedy BAD DATES Starts 1/26

The Huntington Theatre Company presents the irresistible comedy, Bad Dates, featuring Haneefah Wood (Cassandra in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike at the Huntington and Blanche in Fox TV's "Grease Live!"), written by Theresa Rebeck (creator of NBC's "Smash" and the Elliot Norton and IRNE Award-winning play Mauritius, produced at the Huntington in 2006), and directed by Jessica Stone (director of Ripcord and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike at the Huntington). Performances run from January 26 through February 25, 2018 at the Avenue of the Arts / Huntington Avenue Theatre.

Restaurant manager and shoe connoisseur Haley Walker is finally ready to re-enter the dating world in New York City. But add in the responsibility of raising her 13-year-old daughter, spats with her gang-affiliated co-workers, and Haley's own superstitions, and it becomes clear that finding Mr. Right may not be so simple. From the privacy of her bedroom, Haley relates a series of hilarious tales while preparing for, and recovering from, one dreadful date after another. Does she have the luck and tenacity to find her perfect match?

One of the most popular shows in Huntington history, this 15th anniversary of the premiere of Theresa Rebeck's sweet and sharp comedy will make for a terrific date night or a great girls night out for women of all ages. "I'm thrilled to be reviving Bad Dates at the Huntington," says playwright Theresa Rebeck. "Boston, you're my home!"

"Theresa Rebeck's succulent and biting comedy will have Boston audiences in stiches as we recall the details of our dating disasters," says Peter DuBois, artistic director of the Huntington. "This wild and smart comedy is the perfect night out on the town for women of all generations and the ideal remedy to combat any kind of winter blues!"

"Irresistibly charming and bubbling over with good cheer, Bad Dates nevertheless manages to say a touching thing or two about the meaning of life," says The Boston Globe.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Haneefah Wood (Haley) previously appeared in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike at the Huntington. She has appeared on Broadway in Rent (Nederlander Theatre), Avenue Q (John Golden Theatre), and Brooklyn (Plymouth Theatre). Her regional credits include Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (The Old Globe). Her film and television credits include Freedomland (Columbia Pictures), "Grease Live!" (Fox), "Baskets" and "The League (FX), "One Day at a Time" (Netflix), "Zoe Ever After" (BET), "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" (CW), "Life in Pieces", "The Millers" and "NYC 22" (CBS), "White Collar" (USA), "Nurse Jackie" (Showtime), "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" and "Days of Our Lives" (NBC), and "Strong Medicine" (Lifetime).

Theresa Rebeck (Playwright) is a widely produced playwright throughout the United States and abroad. Her play Mauritius had its world premiere at the Huntington and received the IRNE and Elliot Norton Awards for Best Play. Her Broadway productions include Dead Accounts, Seminar, and Mauritius. Other New York productions include The Scene, The Water's Edge, Loose Knit, The Family O. Mann, and Spike Heels (Second Stage Theatre), The Butterfly Collection and Our House (Playwrights Horizons), The Understudy (Roundabout Theatre Company), and View of the Dome (New York Theatre Workshop). Omnium Gatherum (co-written, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2003) was featured at the Humana Festival and had a commercial run at the Variety Arts Theatre. Ms. Rebeck's other publications are Free Fire Zone, a book of comedic essays about writing and show business. She has written for American Theatre Magazine and has had excerpts of her plays published in the Harvard Review. Ms. Rebeck's first novel, Three Girls and Their Brother, was published by Random House/Shaye Areheart Books in April 2008. Her second novel, Twelve Rooms with a View, was published by Random House/Shaye Areheart Books in May of 2010. In television, Ms. Rebeck has written for "Dream On," "Brooklyn Bridge," "LA Law," "American Dreamer," "Maximum Bob," "First Wave," and "Third Watch." She was the creator of the NBC drama "Smash." She has been a writer/producer for "Canterbury's Law," "Smith," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," and "NYPD Blue." Her produced feature films include Harriet the Spy, Gossip, and the independent features Sunday on the Rocks and Seducing Charlie Barker, an adaptation of her play, The Scene. Awards include the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award, the Writer's Guild of America Award for Episodic Drama, the Hispanic Imagen Award, and the Peabody Award, all for her work on "NYPD Blue." She has won the National Theatre Conference Award for The Family O. Mann, and was awarded the William Inge New Voices Playwriting Award in 2003 for The Bells. Other awards include the PEN/Laura Pels Foundation Award, the Athena Film Festival Award, an Alex Award, a Lilly Award, and in 2011 she was named one of the 150 Fearless Women in the World by Newsweek. Ms. Rebeck is originally from Cincinnati and holds an MFA in Playwriting and a PhD in Victorian Melodrama, both from Brandeis University. She is a proud board member of the Dramatists Guild, a contributing editor to the Harvard Review, an associate artist of the Roundabout Theatre Company, a playwright adviser and board member of the LARK, and has taught at Brandeis University and Columbia University. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.

Jessica Stone (Director) returns to the Huntington after directing Ripcord and Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike, based on Nicholas Martin's Broadway direction. She has also performed in the Huntington's productions of She Loves Me, Betty's Summer Vacation, and Springtime for Henry. She has worked as an actress on and Off Broadway, and in television and film, for the last 25 years. Her Broadway credits include Anything Goes, Butley, The Odd Couple, The Smell of the Kill, Design for Living, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and Grease. Her Off Broadway credits include Crimes of the Heart, Krisit, The Country Club, June Moon, Tenderloin, and Babes in Arms. She has performed in regional theatres across the country including Mark Taper Forum, Geva Theatre Center, McCarter Theatre Center, and 10 seasons at Williamstown Theatre Festival. Concurrently, she was an assistant/associate director on and Off Broadway to Nicholas Martin, Joe Mantello, David Warren, and Christopher Ashley. Ms. Stone's directing career began in earnest with her all-male 2010 production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum for the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Directing credits now include Charlotte's Web (Theatreworks USA), Last of the Red Hot Lovers and June Moon (Williamstown Theatre Festival), the world premiere of Ken Ludwig's Robin Hood, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, and Arms and the Man (The Old Globe), Absurd Person Singular and a remount of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Two River Theater Company), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Bucks County Playhouse), and Bad Jews (George Street Playhouse). She currently lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two sons.

Bad Dates features scenic design by Alexander Dodge (Tartuffe at the Huntington and A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder on Broadway); costume design by Sarah Laux (Come Back, Little Sheba at the Huntington and The Band's Visit on Broadway); lighting design by David J. Weiner (Ripcord at the Huntington and The Normal Heart on Broadway); sound design by Drew Levy (The Seagull at the Huntington and Honey Moon in Vegas on Broadway); casting by Alaine Alldaffer; production stage manager is Emily F. McMullen; stage manager is Jeremiah Mullane.

ABOUT THE Huntington Theatre Company
The Huntington Theatre Company is Boston's leading professional theatre and one of the region's premier cultural assets since its founding in 1982. Recipient of the 2013 Regional Theatre Tony Award, the Huntington brings together superb local and national talent and produces a mix of groundbreaking new works and classics made current to create award-winning productions. The Huntington runs nationally renowned programs in education and new play development and serves the local theatre community through its operation of the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA. The Huntington has long been an anchor cultural institution of Huntington Avenue, the Avenue of the Arts, and will remain so on a permanent basis with plans to convert the Huntington Avenue Theatre into a first-rate, modern venue with expanded services to audiences, artists, and the community. Under the direction of Artistic Director Peter DuBois and Managing Director Michael Maso, the Huntington cultivates, celebrates, and champions theatre as an art form. For more information, visit huntingtontheatre.org.

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