| Generic's "Bad Dates" Anything But | | Print | |
| Written by David Springstead | |
| Sunday, 27 August 2006 | |
 When asked to review the Generic Theatre's latest production, "Bad Dates," I was rather looking forward to seeing the place again. It's been years since I've been there and was wondering if they'd done anything to the venue to "spruce it up." Same old place, but that's not always a bad thing.
But then, as I looked at the playbill, I noticed that this is a one woman show. A one woman show? How in the world does someone review a one woman show? It brings to mind other one person shows of years gone by, most notably Hal Holbrook's performance in "Mark Twain Tonight." It's simply a long monlogue by an actor which, if it's done very well, can be quite outstanding. But when it isn't it makes for a long night. Thank God for KATHY STROUSE. Her performance in this show is the former and not the latter."Bad Dates," written by THERESA REBECK and directed by Ocean Lakes High School (Va Beach) theatre teacher and director CHRISTA JONES, tells the story of a single mother in a rent controlled apartment in NYC. Transplanted there from Texas by circumstances which are related in the opening scene, the bedroom setting where the performance takes place is strewn with shoes and shoe boxes. At first I thought the author should have called the play "Shoes" as that was the topic of conversation, but as the story progressed we came to realize that the shoes were a metaphor for something else. The set, designed by HANK SPARKS, is a rather large bedroom, with exits off stage right (bathroom) and left (hall/rest of the place). A rent controlled apartment in NYC with this much space? I know of full apartments in the city that aren't as big as this bedroom, but it allows for the story to be played with freedom of movement while still giving us the idea of a confined space. Kudos to MR. SPARKS. The star of this production is also the entire cast of this production.
Perhaps the only thing with which I might find fault was some of the audience reaction. There was a contingent of persons seated behind me who over-reacted at times to the comedic dialog. Overall the audience was quite diverse in age, and for many of us the "laugh lines" were of the chuckle and smile to yourself variety, rather than the loud guffaws which I heard from this group. I can only believe that this was a result of their immaturity (they appeared to be in their teens) and lack of life experience which caused this. This production continues a fine tradition at The Generic Theatre, and is well worth seeing. And as the Generic moves toward an uncertain future they are in need of all the support they can muster. Their 2006-07 season looks to be a strong one, and
"Bad Dates" runs at The Generic Theatre in Norfolk, Friday's and Saturday's at 8pm, and Sunday's at 2:30pm, through September 24 and can be reached at 757-441-2160 for reservations. |
KATHY STROUSE is a veteran of local stages for the last 30 years and it shows. 