"Bad Dates"
Comes To Merrimack Rep
March 19 - April 12

Following its successful two month run at in Lenox, Shakespeare & Company's production of Theresa Rebeck’s hit comedy "Bad Dates" is coming to Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Lowell from March 19 - April 12.

The critically-acclaimed, one-woman comedy follows the story of Haley Walker, a single mother with a teenage daughter, a screamingly stressful job, and a collection of 600 pairs of shoes. Audiences relive her rotten romances as everyone from Tibetan Buddhists and the Romanian mob get in the way of her finding Mr. Right.

Directed by Adrianne Krstansky, "Bad Dates " features Elizabeth Aspenlieder, hailed by The Wall Street Journal as “a splendid stage comedienne.”

Brandeis University theater professor Adrianne Krstansky comments, "Working with Elizabeth on this wonderful play by Theresa Rebeck has been a hilarious and, at the same time, quite poignant ride. I think anyone who knows what it is like to struggle to raise a child, succeed in a job, keep a roof over their head and dare to find a person with whom to share all the madness will find themselves in this story. Although the play is definitely about the joys and sometimes horror of dating, it is also about our real need for community and the courage it takes to stay put and ask for help from the people around us, rather than thinking yet another exit door will land us in an easier life.”

Theresa Rebeck is a widely produced contemporary playwright and television writer. Born in Kenwood, Ohio, she earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame and M.A., M.F.A. and Ph.D. in Victorian Melodrama from Brandeis University. She is best known for such off-Broadway plays as "Mauritius" (Manhattan Theater Club); "The Scene," "The Water’s Edge," "Loose Knits," "The Family of Mann" and "Spike Heels" (all at Second Stage Theatre); "Bad Dates" and "The Butterfly" (both at Playwrights Horizon); and "View of the Dome" (New York Theatre Workshop). She has also written for such popular TV shows as "Brooklyn Bridge," "L.A. Law," and "Third Watch," and was a writer/producer for "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" and "NYPD Blue."

Rebeck has received many awards including the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Award, the Writers Guild of America Award for Episodic Drama, the Hispanic Images Imagen Award, and the Peabody Award, all for her work on "NYPD Blue." Her play "The Family of Mann" won the National Theatre Conference Award. "Mauritius "received the 2007 Eliot Norton Award and 2007 IRNE Award for Best New Play when it premiered at the Huntington Theatre in Boston. Rebeck has also taught at Brandeis University and Columbia University.

Now celebrating its 30th Anniversary, Merrimack Repertory Theatre is located in Liberty Hall at 50 E. Merrimack Street in downtown Lowell (adjacent to Lowell Memorial Auditorium).

For tickets and information, call 978-654-4678 or visit www.merrimackrep.org.

-- OnStage Boston