First Date
If only all first dates actually went this well. You can make the argument that the stages and rules of a first date (as laid out by First Date ’s leading lady) are also applicable for theatre, and that as audience members, we approach seeing a show for the first time much like we approach a first date: hope for the best, expect the worst. This felt particularly accurate for me, as I didn’t know the creative team (a rare occurrence these days). I knew a couple of the actors but for the most part, it was a bind date for me, too. Fortunately, it was a successful one. First Date , with a book by Austin Winsberg and a score by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner, looks in on Aaron (Zachary Levi) and Casey (Krysta Rodriguez) on their first date. Aaron, a nice Jewish boy on the surface, was left at the chuppah over a year ago and has agreed to go on his first blind date. He’s set up with his friend’s sister-in-law, Casey, a serial dater who is a bit jaded yet full of moxie. Throughout the...