Jessica Rothert is a charming and exceedingly talented actress, and Bad Dates is a charming and exceedingly insignificant play. As it escorts us through the dating jungle, Theresa Rebeck’s one-woman show has nothing new or important to say about love, sex, men, women, shoes, blouses or any of the other subjects that come up over its 90 minutes. Still, there’s Rothert’s performance to enchant us and keep us from glancing too often at our watches. Here she is trying on clothes, brushing her teeth, crying, laughing and eating a pretzel as she regales us with stories of men who repeatedly turn out not to be keepers. And, wonderful to recount, she never once strikes a wrong note. In fact, Rothert’s character, the Texan-turned-New Yorker Haley Walker, is so completely believable, you’ll want her for a buddy with whom to drink late into the night while recounting your relationship woes. As for dramatic urgency….Who said the theater had to be special, anyway?
This article appears in Nov 18-24, 2009.