I attended “First Date” the evening of June 18th at the Hobby Center in Downtown Houston, which was held at 7:30 p. m. This play was shown from June 11 – June 21 in the TUTS Underground / Zilkha Hall. There were approximately 150 people who attended the play that night. Surprisingly to me, the crowd ages ranged from those in their thirties to fifties. The author wrote this play to lighten the concept of first dates, in this case it was a blind date. Nervousness always occurs on any type of date, but more so on a blind date. Cassie was a serial-dater and Aaron was new to the dating scene.
This is almost the case with any date. They were successful with the production because they made it funny, but equal to what happens in real life on dates. The play was produced for entertainment of young adults who are in the dating scene. A scene would start with the characters talking and then turn into singing and/or dancing. Sometimes it was an individual, then maybe a couple and a few times they did all of this as a whole group. You could say there was a little education in the play because it teaches us to be open to things we aren’t usually open to.
The play was full of good music, singing, acting, laughter and lighting. The character were in normal clothes for being on a date or working at the bar. They definitely fit the scene. They all had great voices when singing was involved in a scene. Cassie for sure had the strongest voices of them all! Each scene had perfect lighting, from individuals ones where the spot light was on that actor, to groups scenes that had different colored lights with effects when dancing. The production had many good acting moments, but my favorite was when Aaron showed his sensitive and emotional side with him mother who passed.
The whole play was upbeat and funny, but I like that he was able to turn it to a different direction. He was able to show Cassie a different side to him and I think that is made her more attracted to him. I really can’t complain about any not-so-good acting moments. If I had to critique anything, it would be the bartender’s role. I thought at times he was a little too corny. It was like his role tried too hard to be a part of the production. This was my very first theatre show to ever attend and I was a little hesitate to be honest because I didn’t know what to expect.
I brought my mom with me and I was very impressed with the production because it had a combination of acting, dancing and singing. It was something that many people can relate to now days. Overall, First Date was a fun, affordable and a night well spent for entertainment. The actors were so talented, they were able to play different characters during the production. This was my first play to attend and I liked it so much that I plan on going to see more of them around the Houston area in the future.
