BWW Interviews: Dating Disasters with the Cast of I LOVE YOU BECAUSE
By: Kelly Cameron Apr. 06, 2012
I Love You Because is a sweet, charming and funny original musical currently enjoying its Canadian Premiere at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. The show is loosely based on Pride and Prejudice, and revolves around the lives of a group of friends in modern day New York City who are trying to navigate tumultuous love lives.
The musical may be light fare, but at its core is a great message – that we should all strive to love our significant others because of their faults, and not in spite of them. The characters in the show come to this conclusion after enduring their fair share of bad relationships, break-ups and dating disasters.
Since sometimes truth is indeed stranger than fiction, BWW decided to sit down with the talented all-Canadian cast and dish about their personal dating horror stories. After a sold-out opening night all six cast members (Jay Davis, Michael DeRose, Gabi Epstein, Elena Juatco, Cara Leslie and Jeff Madden) joined Kelly Cameron to dish out their worst stories. Displaying the same chemistry that they exude on stage, the group expressed some initial trepidation over having their dating disasters splashed about online but quickly warmed to the idea and opened up. What ensued was a hilarious evening guaranteed to scare any singleton looking for love in Toronto!
KC: Congratulations on the opening of I Love You Because – now let's get to the good stuff. I want your worst dating stories... Who's going to start?
MD: I'll kick it off. I waited tables for years and years and my worst story happened on the job. I walked up to this table holding steaks for the couple who were dining there, and the man was literally in the process of asking the woman to marry him. And she said no. Then he decided to ask again, while I was still standing there, and this time he called her tubby! He actually said "seriously tubby, will you marry me?" She said no again. The whole time I had to just stand there because I couldn't exactly put the food down but I didn't want to walk away – it was awful. So there's two lessons for you… Don't propose when the waiter is nearby and definitely don't propose using the word 'tubby'.
GE: Mine involves internet dating! After University I did the online dating thing as a way to meet people, and I was actually on JDate (those who have seen the show should appreciate this reference) . The funny thing is , when I first started I was using Lavalife, and my Mom actually said to me 'honey, if you're going to do online dating let it be J-Date and we will pay for it!' So being the cheap person I am I let my parents pay and switched services! I'm shameless. I hit it off with this one guy who seemed really interesting, he used a lot of exclamation marks and seemed engaging and enthusiastic. Then when we met he literally spoke in the slowest, monosyllabic sentences. Isn't that so bizarre? I actually had to do the 'oh my God I have an emergency phone call' bit.
EJ: You didn't?
GE: I had to! He was so boring!
KC: Guess that's the danger with online dating – good on paper, bad in real life?
GE: Exactly. In person you get that spark and then you have to decide if they're good on paper. It's hard with online dating.
JD: How exactly does that work?
GE: Basically you get someone who is good on paper and seems a perfect fit for you, but then you have to have that awkward meeting where you decide if there is actually any chemistry.
EJ: No chemistry and it doesn't matter how good on paper they are!
KC: Ok, Jay's turn…
JD: I need a subject! I've got too many stories!
MD: He really needs a subject? We could give him pickles…
JD: Ok, I've got an online dating story as well. I was on Lavalife and I went out with this girl who lived down on the Lakeshore. When I got to her door she was wearing the most fucked up outfit I had ever seen. It was completely horrible, so bad that I didn't know what to do. I took her to the Drake rooftop patio and found out that she was actually writing a book about online dating! She dressed like that on purpose to see how I would react! So my online dating experience was basically fake…
MD: Was it Kate Hudson?
GE & EJ: How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days!
JD: No… But then she actually called me back to thank me for dating her and give her a 'follow up' phone call. Apparently she did that with all of her dates. She would leave these messages literally begging me to call her back.
JM: What was she wearing?
JD: Some kind of one piece jumper thing. It took everything in my power to keep my eyes on her face and not stare at the outfit.
GE: Hey…I wear onesies!!!
JD: No, it wasn't like what you wear. It was a costume. Clearly meant to elicit a response.
CL: Ok, my turn. Also an online dating story.
KC: We seem to be encountering a theme here. Perhaps we could be sponsored by a dating website!
CL: I don't even care who knows, so I'm going to tell the world – I turned forty this year!
Men: Cara Leslie doesn't look forty though!
CL: Anyways, so I turned forty and I started doing the online dating thing. There must be something with my profile because I swear I get 2-3 toe suckers a week! Seriously! And men wanting cougars…
(Cara proceeds to read us one of her dating website messages off her phone)
You're so hot. You're the same age as my Mom. Is age a barrier for you? I love cougars!
(Everyone groans…)
CL: Toe suckers and cougars. Good times. Jeff, tell us how you met your wife!
JM: We had chemistry together.
MD: Don't be iconic…
JM: We met in University a hundred years ago. And one of the classes where we first noticed eachother was chemistry class. Chemistry in chemistry.
JD: How did you get together?
JM: She always sat in one of the classes with this certain friend, and I realized I lived near that friend. So I introduced myself to her friend and started tagging along with her to classes so I could get close to my wife.
GE: Wait Jeff Madden, what if that friend thought you were her dream man? I mean, if I were that hypothetical friend, not that this has EVER happened to me, and some cute boy was asking if he could accompany me to class I would think he was interested. And then to have him tell me he was hitting on my friend? Screw you Jeff Madden!
JM: Ok then…onto Elena!
EJ: I'm literally wracking my brain and coming up with nothing! My Dad is going to read this!
MD: Ok, how about the worst thing someone can ask you on a date? Or your biggest turn-off?
EJ: When guys talk too much about themselves. Guys who tell you all about how much money they have and how cool they are and then start to flip through their phone and talk about all the cool things they've done. It's awful.
That does remind me, there are some cues that you can use to tell if someone isn't interested. Men take note! If a girl doesn't text you back, she's not into you. It's that simple. Same with the bill. If I don't let you pick up the bill, I'm not having a good time. We won't be seeing each other again.
JD: But wait...I have an addendum!
EJ: No, no addendum. If we don't text you back, or we don't let you pay. We aren't interested. It's like He's Just Not That Into You - in reverse!
When and Where?
Angelwalk Theatre presents I Love You Because
The Toronto Centre for the Arts Studio Theatre
Performance Schedule
March 28th – April 15th 2012
Tickets range from $35-$45 with special priced tickets of $25 for those under 30.
Tickets can be purchased in person at the box office and online at http://www.angelwalk.ca/ILYB_tickets.html
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