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Arts & Entertainment

'Bad Dates' Opens for 3-Weekend Run

The play is a great show for a girl's night out or, ironically, a date night.

Opening Friday and running for three weekends, Pumphouse Players will be staging the one-woman comedy Bad Dates by Theresa Rebeck, author of The Butterfly Collection and Spike Heels

For the first time, PHP is offering tickets for the whole run at $10 each, a big discount from the typical $18 general admission charge at the door of the Legion Theatre, located on Main Street in historic downtown Cartersville.

As a one-woman play, the entire show rests on the shoulders of its star, Stacy Vaccaro

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“It’s a bit overwhelming,” she said, “but it’s a fantastic challenge and something I am really excited about. On the one hand, there is no other actor to feed off of for energy or support; on the other hand, it’s just me and the audience and so I don’t have to worry about anyone else.” 

The play is an episodic foray into the life of a divorced single mom who is venturing back into the dating game after a long absence. The character Vaccaro plays, Haley Walker, ruminates at one point, “And then I realize, in this sort of strange, hallucinatory moment, that the bug guy is looking kind of good, and the things he's saying about bugs are really kind of fascinating and it is then that I realized that maybe it has been too long since I've been on a date.” 

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This eccentric journey of romantic self-discovery employs a storyteller’s delivery to traverse such topics as Walker’s dealings with the Romanian mob, a Buddhist rainstorm, a teenage daughter, shoes and, of course, very bad dates.

Anyone who has ever been burned by a bad date or a bad relationship will find plenty to laugh about during the 2-hour comedy. As Shakespeare once observed, misery loves company. 

If anyone says they have never had a bad date, they are either lying or they just don’t date. Bad Dates caters to an adult audience, due to its themes and some language, so it makes a much better girl’s night out or date night than it does a family outing.

The director of the show, Jeanne Young, said that even though some early teens might be okay with the topics on stage, most, if not all, would have a hard time identifying with the situations being described. 

“It’s one of those things where you need to have lived a little to fully appreciate what the character is going through,” Young said.

Friday and Saturday performances begin at 8 p.m. and Sunday matinees begin at 3 p.m. The box office opens 1 hour prior to show time. 

You can purchase your tickets online by going to the theatre’s website at www.pumphouseplayers.com or you can leave a message at the box-office information line by calling 770-387-2610. 

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