Review: TUTS' FIRST DATE Leaves Something to be Desired

You can tell how a first date is going to go in the first 15 minutes, and sometimes that's true of musicals too.

The first 15 minutes of FIRST DATE gives us Aaron, your typical nerdy, over-achieving, nice Jewish boy, and Casey, the would-be "bad girl", a "serial dater" with an attitude whose usual fare is bad boys. Opposites attracting is hardly a fresh concept, and FIRST DATE is certainly not about fresh concepts. Presented with two unapologetically stereotyped lead characters, we can tell exactly what is going to happen because it's been done to death on television sitcoms, in movies, and in novels. The nerd and the rebel wind up together, despite major differences and minor hurdles that are blown out of proportion.

With a book by Austin Winsberg, FIRST DATE is reminiscent of the half-hour sitcom with it's pithy lines and archetypal characters. Set up by Casey's sister and Aaron's best friend, the two meet for drinks at a restaurant where it becomes clear that both of them are carrying a lot of predictable baggage. He's geeky and unsure of himself; she's a marshmallow covered in a world-weary shell. The whole point of the show seems to be centered around the date and how it's going. You would think that's not enough to carry a plot and you'd be right. FIRST DATE is not about in-depth storylines and multifaceted characters. With it's sketch comedy style and candid song lyrics, the show simply aims to make you laugh. We care about the characters, but not really because they're so formulated as to seem like reincarnations of sitcom characters who are on a first date with very little at stake. A.J. Shively is adorable as the nerdy Aaron and does his best to infuse some soul and dimension into the stock character. Jessica Janes is believable as the jaded Casey and does a good job of revealing her soft side in a role that could become too strident and hard. Both leads have strong vocals, but Janes struggles with a nasal quality in both her speaking and singing voice that is sometimes hard to overlook.

Perhaps the biggest strength of FIRST DATE is the way that secondary characters impose themselves into scenes through Casey and Aaron's thoughts. This is a concept that gives rich fodder for comedy and both Brooke Wilson and Adam Gibbs are very funny as people who are trying to orchestrate the date. A scene when the couple decides what to order for dinner is a high point in the script, with Wilson and Gibbs lecturing Casey and Aaron about the merits of a chopped salad or a big, manly burger.

The flexible cast takes on several characters throughout the show; Aaron's mother, Aaron's ex, Casey's bad-boy ex-boyfriends, a psychiatrist, and Casey's - wait for it - gay best friend, just to name a few. The token gay BFF, a cartoon character of a portrayal by Mark Ivy, sings a song ("Bailout") into Casey's voicemail a handful of times in the show, but the comedy aspect doesn't really work until the end, when he begins to wonder if his gal pal is dead. Dylan Godwin is very funny as the waiter and in a comedy bit about Casey's imaginary little kid, but the would-be showstopper he sings ("I'd Order Love") comes out of left field and is a tired reincarnation of the "Just Jack" concept from the hit comedy Will and Grace. Kathryn Porterfield gives an amusing portrayal of Aaron's ex-girlfriend, Allison, but I had to wonder if Porterfield has injured herself; her posture throughout the show is rather slouchy without reason to be.

With music and lyrics by Alan Zachary and Michael Werner, FIRST DATE is a mixed bag musically. Some of the lyrics are clever and funny, but the tunes are forgettable. The cast is strong vocally, thank heaven, and the best musical moment of the show is "In Love With You", when Aaron gives the taunting memory of his ex-girlfriend the heave-ho. Shively performs the song with lusty abandonment and a lot of charisma.

Directed by Marley Wisnoski, FIRST DATE could be considered a fun, fuzzy romp into the dating world. The performance that I attended had a very enthusiastic and appreciative audience; their laughing echoed a television studio audience laugh track. I felt like I was watching a sitcom of a musical with themes and topics that have been done to death. Many of the characters' issues seemed more befitting for adolescents than adults; worrying about being googled, prematurely obsessing about marriage and children when they're on their first date, and jumping to conclusions about their compatibility. It's a show of full-grown adults who have one foot stuck in high school. Still, the show has it's moments and if you like situational comedies then FIRST DATE is probably the one for you.

For tickets: http://tutsunderground.com/firstdate

Photo Credit: Christian Brown, courtesy of Theatre Under The Stars

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