Bad Dates Plot summary
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ad Dates is a comedic one-person show written by Theresa Rebeck. This hilarious, off-beat comedy tells the story of a single mother, Haley, and her struggle to maintain some sort of balance between her professional life and romantic life while being a single parent. The play begins in her New York City apartment with Haley trying on multiple pairs of shoes from her extensive collection, and giving the audience a brief summation of her life story. While sharing stories regarding her shoe-shopping fetish, she manages to slip in some details concerning her personal life. She has a young daughter named Vera, and she was married very abruptly to a man named Roger (who unfortunately developed a nasty drug habit and sold Haley's Toyota for three pounds of marijuana). Haley wisely decided to get herself and her young daughter out of that situation and moved to New York City. She got a job as a waitress in a Romanian restaurant, managed to find an amazing rent controlled apartment … and suddenly discovers that the restaurant she is working in is a front for the Romanian mob.
Haley became the manager when the owners and previous manager are arrested. Her decision about whether she should turn them in lifts the play into a a serious work. The restaurant becomes extremely successful due to Haley's exceptional managerial skills. Everything in her life is suddenly going perfectly — except for her personal life. A friend suddenly points out that Haley is an extremely successful career woman, desired by a vast array of men, and tells her that she is not taking full advantage of her position as a wanted woman. Haley realizes that her friend is correct in her analysis and decides to leap back into the world of dating. What follows is a hilarious, yet sensitive and touching account of her disastrous first few dates, the excitement and promise of a successful date, and overall simply the surprises and curveballs that life always seems to throw her way. Rebeck realistically captures the battle between vulnerability and toughness that is the single woman's plight, and carries the audience along with Haley from beginning to end on her compelling journey.
Cast of Characters in Bad Dates: Haley: She is a single mother in her mid-thirties. She is able to look at her life in an objective manner and appreciate the irony and complications that make it interesting. Haley is the only character the audience ever sees during the course of the play. She discusses the important people in her life, and we feel as if we know them from her astute observations and detailed descriptions. She is a sympathetic and likeable character, as well as being believable. Vera: Haley's teenage daughter, whom the audience never sees. Roger: Haley's ex-husband who had a drug problem; Haley left him when Vera was five years old. Eileen: Haley's best friend. She is the bartender at the restaurant that Haley now manages. The Bug Guy: A man that Haley meets at a Buddhist benefit. She is seated at his table, and quickly dismisses him as a "loser." However, first impressions aren't always accurate. B.J.: Haley's brother. She often turns to him for relationship advice. Lewis: A man that Haley dates; she met him while working at her restaurant.
Syracuse Stage 2005-2006 Study Guide education office: 443-1150 or syracusestage.org/education.html
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