First Date

Shoebox Theatre Company’s Queensland premiere of First Date, is definitely a ‘swipe right’ – for its packed-house audience, it was love at first sight.

This production showcases the best thing about seeing so-called ‘amateur’ performances – the cast and crew infuse the show with a true sense of ensemble energy and infectious joy.

The simple story of an old-fashioned, exciting-yet-nerve-wracking blind date, First Date is much more than the cute, comedy sketch show I was expecting. This is a mini Broadway musical that ticks all the boxes: slow ballads, belt-em-out tunes, emotional scenes, moving character progression – the perfect vehicle for a very talented group of local actors and musicians.

A 90-minute power-packed pill, this show is funny and fresh, boisterous and touching – simply fun to watch. I can see its revival on Valentine’s Day for many years to come. No musical-lite, First Date contains more than a dozen songs, each highlighting the pitfalls and pleasures of the dating game, including a cleverly executed scene on the hazards of online dating.

This show was definitely a perfect match for Shoebox talents. Holding the show together as the first-daters are Jess Berwick as Casey and Dan Stewart as Aaron. This duo proves they can handle the challenging Friends-like rom-com roles, and do so while also selling a sweet pop song. With a Manhattan setting, the actors rose to the challenge and kept up faultless American accents, which were actually a boon for the snappy musical numbers, adding comedy pep and pace.

Ensemble work is all about great support. In this case, the leads were confidently buoyed by a very strong safety net of performers, who treated us to multi-tasking roles around the main date action. All equally integral to our enjoyment of the show, each actor hit the right note in a range of supporting parts and clever cameos that either help or hinder the main couple as they survive the emotional hurdles of their date. There were standout performances by Angela Ponting as Casey’s annoyingly happier and wiser sister; Elesha Hetherington as Aaron’s ex-girlfriend, pretty and perfect in every way – or is she? – Harrison Paroz as Aaron’s best mate and self-appointed ladies’ man; and Matt Collins as the heart-breaking, lonely singing waiter. Zack Weedon pulled out all the stops and cracked the audience up several times in his recurring role as Casey’s caring but curtly camp bestie, buzzing her mobile throughout the date to remind her she could ‘bail out’ with his call.

It is also a real treat to see an 8-piece live band on stage for the duration of the show. Katelyn Berry and Mike Escober confidently boosted the back-up vocals – and Escober bravely stepped forward to embody the ‘bad boy’ ex-boyfriend that dogged Casey’s relationship choices.

This group of Shoebox performers have collectively appeared in more than 100 local shows with Empire Theatre, the Toowoomba Choral Society and Toowoomba Philharmonic Society. This makes it difficult to judge Shoebox as a strictly ‘amateur’ company. They also display marketing savvy, engaging Toowoomba’s vibrant cafe scene and other local businesses in promoting a lively local show – a marriage of culture and commerce made in heaven. With so much talent to display, audiences in Toowoomba (and beyond) will most certainly be looking forward to Shoebox’s next step.

Beth Keehn