DeWitt — “First Date” is a relatively new show which made its world premiere four years ago in Seattle before opening in 2013 on Broadway where it drew mixed reviews and ran for a mere five months.
So this often clever musical-comedy may not be one of Broadway’s best, but CNY Playhouse has staged a fast-paced and funny version which glibly assesses the mixed blessings of a blind date pairing a decidedly mismatched guy and gal out for a casual drink at a busy New York City restaurant.
Actress Michele Lindor plays Casey, a cool and calculated serial dater with a thing for bad boys. Aaron, portrayed by Jordan Westfall, may be a nebbish, but soon reveals that he has a good heart which had been broken at least once. A subtle antagonism animates the couple’s expository banter, and both Lindor and Westfall put their strong singing voices to good use throughout.
Along the way, Casey and Aaron’s inner critics take on a life of their own when other restaurant patrons transform into supportive best friends, manipulative exes and protective parents who sing and dance them through ice-breakers, appetizers and potential conversational land mines.
Aaron is haunted by his emasculating ex played by bright-eyed brunette Terrace Althouse and critiqued by his best buddy played by an intrepid Jacob Rios, who shows off his classically trained voice on Act One’s “Awkward Pause.” (Althouse and Rios are recent transplants from Texas who should soon be cast in lead roles locally.)
Casey’s inner critic is her sister, Lauren, played by Amaya Begona Eckel (another experienced newcomer relocated from the West Coast), who pesters Casey about her ticking biological clock. Too bad Eckel is reluctant to enthusiastically articulate the F-word; a couple of her best punch lines fell flat as a result.
The cast of 13 well-directed by Greg Hipius also features Daryl Acevedo and Eric Feldstein as Casey’s badass former boyfriends, Donovan Stanfield as Casey’s preacher father, JoAnne Rougeux as Aaron’s mom and Noelle Hedgcock as Grandma Ida.
continued — Mom and grandma contribute to the show’s best number, “The Girl for You,” a klezmer-influenced tune which strongly advises Aaron against marrying a gentile.
While the dialogue by Austin Winsberg consistently inspires laughs, the songs by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner run the gamut from parody rap to classic rock to a sensitive ballad, “The Things I Never Said,” performed by Westfall and Rougeux.
As a character named Google, Rachel Briscoe leads the company in “The World Wide Web is Forever.” And as Casey’s gay alternative boyfriend, the elfin-faced Cole Laventure delivers three hilarious versions of “The Bail-Out Song” as he tries to talk her out of the blind date by leaving vitriolic voicemail messages on her cell phone.
But leave it to the restaurant’s swishy waiter to steal the show. A cherubic Danny Monroe rises to the occasion twice in Act Two with the recommendation “I’d Order Love” and a rollicking reprise of Act One’s “First Impressions.”
Musical Director Dan Williams and set designers Dustin Czarny and Navroz Dabu all went over and above the call of duty. Williams helmed a crackerjack sextet to accompany the singers, while Czarny and Dabu created a spectacular cityscape using giant images of the Empire State, Met Life and Chrysler buildings.
And guess what? This “First Date” has a happy ending.
“First Date” runs at 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 18, 19 and 20, at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21, and at 8 p.m. Feb. 25, 26 and 27. Tickets cost $22 on Thursday and Sunday, $25 Friday and Saturday. CNY Playhouse is located near the Macy’s entrance at DeWitt’s ShoppingTown Mall; 885-8960; cnyplayhouse.com.
