George Street Playhouse (GSP) had barely an instant to warm the seats in their brand new facility, on the site of their former one, in the heart of New Brunswick, when COVID-19 shut the world down. This season, GSP makes brilliant art out of opportunity by presenting an entirely contactless virtual season for 2021, opening with the grand one-act “Bad Dates,” by Theresa Rebeck. Starring the award-winning Hudson Flynn and Andréa Burns ("On Your Feet" and "In The Heights") as Haley Walker, we learn a whole lot about Texas grit and the high--and low--drama of the dating scene.
Beautifully filmed in a GSP Board Member’s home, Burns, directed by husband Peter Flynn and filmed by their son Hudson Flynn, who was their cinematographer and film crew, this stellar troupe made theatre magic. The first time we meet Haley, we learn that she is shoe-i-cidal, a major collector of footwear. As we learn of how she literally pulled herself up by her bootstraps in Texas to end up running a renowned restaurant, Haley’s inner strength shows through. As the story spins out, we see her getting ready for a string of bad dates, which are actually pearls that Rebeck and Burns bring together to colorful effect. Interspersed with actual tantalizing NYC street shots, which fan the flame of our currently-thwarted desire to move around our area, the vignettes outside the apartment act as time-passage, scene-change, and palate-cleansing moments of negatives space to process our thoughts. Haley is winsome and determined, and works within a particular set of morals and, as she weaves her tale, the warp and weft take a somewhat different direction.
It takes a village, and in this case Artistic Director David Saint assembled a team including Lisa Zinni, with delightful costumes. Alan C. Edwards, on subtle light design; Ryan Rummery, with original music and sound design; Dorothy Petersen, on Hair; and Makeup Design; Helen Tewksbury, on Props and Set Dressing; and Sharon Karmazin, as Executive Producer. The gift we receive from GSP is a play, a film, a full meal from appetizer to coffee-and, and much needed travel without ever leaving home.
Tickets are still available and this show streams until March 14, 2021! Get more details and information at www.GeorgeStreetPlayhouse.org and let the season BEGIN!

Bad Dates

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