Anyone who's been involved in the online dating scene knows it can be a strange and unfamiliar place filled with experiences good and bad and built on a landscape pockmarked with a wee bit of deception.
If you're lucky, the good will ultimately outweigh the bad and you'll meet someone who's less flaky, less broke and better looking than that last idiot you dated.
When you put it all together, the subject would make pretty good fodder for a play.
And that's exactly what Penticton's Many Hats Theatre Co. will bring to the Okanagan this July when it debuts the Phil Olson-penned ode to the online dating scene entitled "Love… or Best Offer."
Olson's take dispenses with potentially serious pitfalls to focus instead on the lighter side. It was a smart decision. The production is both funny and perceptive.
At the centre of the Love… or Best Offer universe is Cheryl (played by Dawn Bassett), a 50-something widow who lost her hubby of a quarter century just a couple years earlier, and Stan (Rob McCaffery), an equally mature but socially awkward tech multi-millionaire who watched a good chunk of his fortune evaporate though divorce.
They're both feeling a little lonely and a little screwed up, as to be expected, especially after each has recently endured a series of less than perfect blind dates.
But now, with the earnest but often questionable advice of their good friends Lori (Jill Fey) and Dave (Jim Minshull), each with plenty of middle-aged dating experience and a belief that they know more than they actually do, they're trying their luck on an online dating site called "Friends, Love or Whatever.”
And that's where they first communicate with one another.
When the curtain rises, we see Cheryl entering her living room, positioned stage right. She's prematurely ending another lousy blind date, turfing the guy at the door before he has a chance to come in.
The moment he's gone, she's on the phone to good bud Lori, positioned at the centre of the stage and offering up her best guidance.
Soon, Cheryl and Lori leave the stage and lovelorn Stan sits in his home office, stage left, chatting with ally Dave, who, like Lori, assumes the production's default position for advisors at centre stage.
It's like that for much of the production – telephone-tethered cast members appearing at their appropriate spots when needed and disappearing when they’re not. It’s a fun, fast little rhythm that'll keep the attention of audience members.
There are plenty of laughs, but there are questions too. Will Stan, for example, listen to the advice of Dave, who believes his buddy is on the verge of being wiped out by nefarious gold-diggers?
Given that Dave is also the chief financial officer of Stan's business, his opinion holds a lot of weight.
But the biggest moments are reserved for the conversation between the would-be lovers.
At the helm of the Many Hats take on Love… or Best Offer is the co-directorial team of Jason Lane and Vance Potter. It's the first time in his life that Lane, a very funny actor we've watched in numerous Many Hats roles, has jumped into the big chair.
"I do about a play a year, usually as an actor," he told us prior to a late June rehearsal. "But because this is Many Hats, I wanted to put on more hats. Do more things.
"I didn’t want to be just a guy on stage. I wanted to help out. I don't know how to do the lights and the sound, and I don't know how to direct. So I put my hand up and up and volunteered."
According to Lane, he's not exactly the most assertive guy around.
"It’s nice to work with people you know, and everyone here is great," he said. "But I find it hard generally to tell people what do to. Like, 'Excuse me, can you do it this way?' That's a bit out of my comfort zone.
"But I do have ideas. So I'll say, 'I think it would be funny if you did this.' I prefer to think of it as suggestions as opposed to directions."
As for co-director Potter, a guy with substantially more directorial experience, Lane's glad for the help.
"I didn’t know what was involved," he said, "so Vance asked if I minded him tagging along. And it just turned into him co-directing. It's been amazing. He's a fountain of knowledge."
Indeed, it was Potter who chose the play.
"Vance picked it," said Lane, who admits to some experience himself in the online dating scene before meeting his life partner.
"And I read it and loved it. A lot of good jokes. It has some touching moments too and some social commentary on online dating and putting yourself out there later in life. But primarily it's funny."
The biggest issue now for the fledgling director? A possible case of abandonment when the play opens.
"Once the rehearsals are done," he said, "I'm pretty much done. Usually I have a whole other month where I have to be on stage and put on a show.
"So that'll be difficult for me, pulling away that early."
Love… or Best Offer opens Friday July 4 at the Cannery Stage, 1475 Fairview Road, Penticton and runs every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through to July 27. Friday and Saturday performances begin at 7:30 PM, the Sunday matinees are at 2.
Tickets ($35 for adults and $33 for seniors and students) and info on show times and more are available right here.
