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Writing for Us
A CurtainUp New Jersey Review
Date of a Lifetime
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You asked me a question and I listened."" — Katie
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Jamie LaVerdiere and Trisha Rapier (Photo credit: Suzanne Barabas)
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This adventurous game during which its participants move in a neutral space from table to table for a prescribed four minutes of questioning, flirting, insinuating themselves as a possible partner in life has all the dramatic/comedic requirements of a speedy revue skit. Carl Kissin, who wrote the snappy and funny lyrics and the amusing book, and Robert Baumgartner Jr., who keeps apace with a bouncy score, have extended the basic idea into a breezy ninety-minutes of music and fun.
Early forty-somethings Marvin (Jamie LaVerdiere) and Katie (Trisha Rapier) have committed themselves to the "Rotate a Date" in the basement of Symphony Space. But their intended interaction is quickly cast aside as each, in turn, begins a fast-forward fantasy of a future life with the other. We follow them as they travel through time and begin to expose their idiosyncrasies and temperaments at warp speed.
The frenetically choreographed direction of Marlo Hunter doesn't leave the eagerly aggressive characters much room to breathe, let alone give them opportunities to create more than superficial personalities. But it seems quite sufficient, given the fact that the action and interaction of the two actors are rooted in a broad style that goes back to the silent film era.
LaVerdiere and Rapier are attractive, accomplished and versatile performers and able to literally enhance their imaginings with active flights of fancy with a little taste of Fred and Ginger in the 1930s if you please. An escape route from the minimalism of Jessica Park's basement setting —two tables, four chairs and an upstage piano (well played by musical director Daniel Rein)— is a rear screen on which various locations from Coney Island to Central Park to Park Slope are projected.
Without giving all of the points and places where and how Marvin's relationship with Katie develops from dating to serious commitment to marriage, to children and to old age, you can expect Katie to create a significantly different scenario. Their songs broach just about every possible genre from hip hop to rap to rock to ballads. Date of a Lifetime is cleverly constructed so that the text and lyrics move fluidly from first to third person. This allows Marvin and Katie to exist both in the now as well as in the perhaps not-so-perfect future.
Some members of the audience are likely to remember the classic musical I Do, I Do in which its long-time married couple reflects nostalgically on their years together. Here we have a twist on the fated-to-be-mated theme in which the future is projected, and the characters' personalities and problems are exposed through improvisations. Neither performer is ever off-stage. The nicely matched and very talented LaVerdiere and Rapier make their numerous transitions from song to text and from present to future a joy.
According to an insert in the press kit, the play was developed slowly from a three-minute monologue written and performed by Chicago City Limits improv trouper Carl Kissin. If Date of a Lifetime , in its first fully staged world premiere, never actually shakes off the skin of being an extended skit, it offers bright and funny songs, an amusing situation and a resolve that could also make you ask the same question that Katie asks in her best song, "Where Is This Going?"
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Date of a Lifetime Book & Lyrics by Carl Kissin Music by Robert Baumgartner, Jr. Directed & Choreographed by Marlo Hunter Cast: Jamie LaVerdier (Marvin), Trisha Rapier (Katie) Scenic Design & Properties : Jessica Parks Costume Design: Patricia E. Doherty Lighting Design : Jill Nagle Sound Design: Merek Royce Press Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes no intermission New Jersey Repertory Company, 179 Broadway, Long Branch, NJ. (732) 229 - 3166 or www.njrep.org From 03/07/14 Opened 03/08/14 Ends 04/06/14 Tickets: $42.00 Performances: Thursdays, Fridays at 8 pm; Saturdays at 3 pm and 8 pm; and Sundays at 2 pm and select performances at 7 pm. Review by Simon Saltzman based on performance 03/08/14 |
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