Here's a good date night idea: Take the date to see Eat Your Heart Out, a show in the Bingham Theatre at Actors Theatre that combines good to great acting, a well-written script, and plenty of humor.
Eat Your Heart Out [4] is essentially an ensemble production that features most predominately Nance (Kate Eastwood Norris), a single mother who gpes out on a date with someone she met online, Tom (Alex Moggridge).
The awkward stances, forced conversation, and nervous, questioning attitudes by both in the early stages of the date are played to full comic effect, easing the audience into the story. Tom and Nance's slowly burgeoning relationship becomes a major attraction in the multi-story show.
The first date is just one of the stories for Nance, who is also trying to communicate with her teenage daughter Evie (Sarah Grodsky). In what could have been very cliche scenes, Norris and Grodsky play their roles in the mother-distant teenage daughter with energy, thankfully delivering lines back-and-forth without getting whiny.
Evie's best friend Colin (Jordan Brodess) comes into play, dealing with moving from New Hampshire to Pasadena, where the story is based, while also missing his girlfriend. Evie and Colin's relationship felt more standoff-ish than friendly, making it hard to root for this relationship to blossom into anything, or even figure out where it was going.
Finally, there's the story of Alice (Kate Arrington) and Gabe (Mike DiSalvo), who are trying to adopt a baby. Their excitement, then confusion, then anger are presented clearly by the couple and, while not the highlight of the show, was fun to watch.
Eat Your Heart Out could make a good date night. That is, if the women don't mind crying and laughing during the same performance. (Plenty of women using tissues were seen immediately after the show.) It's a multi-faceted love story a la Valentine's Day or New Year's Eve, so any fan of those movies could also enjoy this production.
Keep in mind, though, the show contains plenty of adult language, including plenty of f bombs. If you don't mind this, though, go see the show.
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(Image from Actors Theatre)