THE MATING GAME by Dennie Theodore (Rewrites Rewires). At Tarragon Mainspace. July 10 at 1:15pm, July 12 at 9:15pm, July 13 at 11pm, July 14 at 5:15pm. See listing. Rating: NNN
Dennie Theodores new play about dating as we age is cute and comical but lacks a unique edge to set it apart.
Recent divorcee Elizabeth (Nawa Nicole Simon) guns for a job as a columnist, leading her into uncomfortable stunts whipped up by her editor (Luc Iogna), like going on blind dates with readers. The main narrative is interspersed with other scenes such as an interviewer polling random people on the street for dating advice, and a bachelorette game-show, complete with volunteers from the audience.
While all these threads contain seeds of relatable anxieties and various coping mechanisms, the result is unfocused rather than unifying.
Iogna and Simon are charismatic, and Simon is welcoming and gracious with the audience participants, but the message that self-love matters most is patronizing and contrived. Theodores script has a lot of funny moments, but the material doesnt offer us any new insights.
