First Date at SART
Edwin Arnaudin: Not only is it great to be back inside seeing live theater, but seeing productions that allow you to laugh with a roomful of people. First Date, currently on stage at SART, offers one such experience, humorously expanding on practically everything that goes through two strangers' heads while meeting up for a drink. Was your funny bone likewise tickled?
Bruce Steele: I laughed a lot, and got choked up once or twice as well. The style of the show progresses with the date, from light and comic at the start to, well, something deeper towards the end. (No spoilers!) The early songs are catchy and clever — some laugh-out-loud funny — and we get more emotional numbers later on. It seemed a bit sketch-comedy-like at the beginning, but once I realized that was more a reflection of how awkward blind dates can be than of the creators' style, I was with it all the way. Was there one moment when it first won you over?
Edwin: It arrives fairly early. Once it becomes clear that the story is going to focus on Casey (Ness Nowik) and Aaron (Maximilian Koger), rather than hop between multiple tables, First Date settles into a confident groove. But the songwriting by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner truly turns a corner when, after Casey doesn’t answer a phone call, Mathew Harper pops out as her gay friend, performing a comically over-choreographed rendition of a “bailout” call (which goes to voicemail) — just in case the outing wasn’t going well. At that point, I was fully taken with the show’s meta potential and that faith was rewarded with subsequent creative explorations of “getting to know you” highs and lows. Which titular standbys were you happiest to see, and were you surprised that certain clichés were absent?
Bruce: I can't think of a thing they missed. The show does have an early run of winners, hitting dating do's and don'ts. Harper's first (of three) hysterical "Bail Out Songs" is followed by the equally observant and smart "The Awkward Pause," involving the whole ensemble, then "Allison's Theme," in which Lauren Nicole Eddings gets to strut her stuff in the running gag of Aaron's neurotic but super sexy ex-girlfriend, which is funny every time. The knockout comic number for me was "I'd Order Love," sung by William Tyler Ezzell, playing the snarky waiter. The staging by director J. Ethan Henry was especially smart and kinetic, and Ezzell hits every comic note available. It's a hoot.
Edwin: Ezzell was terrific as the preacher in Church Basement Ladies — the last pre-pandemic show at SART — so I was elated to see him get another chance to shine here, though the script makes you wait for his big moment. I likewise lit up seeing Dillon Giles, whom I mostly know from Asheville Community Theatre productions (including Footloose and The Fantasticks) and has become one of the most dependable actors in the area. He, Eddings, Harper, and fellow supporting player Jennifer Poarch excel in multiple roles that require costume changes and noticeable shifts in voices and mannerisms, fully becoming new characters. It’s an impressive feat had me looking forward to each transformation.
Bruce: The show does a lot with minimal props (by Kyrstin Ezzell), a readily adaptable set (by Braeden Johnson), even lighting (by Anderw Zebrowski, who also handled the sound), and character-based costuming (by Henry, the director). With a stellar cast doing this engaging collection of songs, production frills were not needed. And lest we leave the impression it's all gags, I would add that Poarch has one heartbreaking number with Koger late in the show ("The Things I Never Said") that adds welcome ballast to the proceedings. It's a well-rounded show that will leave audiences smiling and maybe even humming.
Edwin: The dash of drama near the end lets the performers showcase their range and indeed makes First Date richer than mere farce. But comedy is still the material’s primary strength, and Koger especially is well-suited to the physical humor inherent in the sensitive ball of nerves that is Aaron. It was a delight to watch his various extreme expressions, some of which he’s forced to hold while his inner thoughts take musical form. Meanwhile, Nowik conveys Casey’s own insecurities in a less showy but still entertaining manner, most notably when she’s “confronted” with memories of bad boy boyfriends from her past. SART really did a wonderful job casting these leads.
Bruce: Nowik is a SART newbie, and I hope we'll see her again. She's so at home on stage, and well-matched with the often high-strung Koger. This is a fine show, and audiences should catch it soon, since it's a short run. There are a couple numbers that try too hard (e.g., the silly "The Worldwide Web Is Forever"), but overall it's a delight, ending with the one-two punch of humor/humanism with "The Check" (as in, Who Will Pick Up...) and "Something That Will Last." It's a good choice for date night, whether it's your first or ninety-first.
Playing through August 1 at Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre at Owen Theatre in Mars Hill. For details and tickets, visit SARTPlays.com.
(Photo: Cheyenne Dancy/Courtesy of SART)
