Recommended *** With the Covid 19 pandemic, the theater world has come to a standstill. But through all of this, many theater companies have found ways to work and bring theater to those hungry for it. The use of ZOOM has been effective and is perfect fr music and readings. Some of the companies have taken videos of the shows they recently did and brought them to the world of the internet.
Tonight, my friends at the very tiny ( better yet, intimate) Oil Lamp Theater in Glenview has brought us the next advancement to bringing theater to the community. A One woman show, “Bad Dates” , written by Theresa Rebeck and directed by Elizabeth Mazur Levin is a fully staged production that was filmed for this specific purpose- to give Oil Lamp Theater a production that they could do as a “drive-in movie” first ( one-night only) and then continue through August 23rd online ( as a fund raiser).
I must tell you that they did a great job of doing the drive-in. Using the nearby Our Lady Of Perpetual Help’s parking lot, just down the street, they set up two LED screens ( 16′ x 9 “) so they could spread the cars out. The rows were every other car and no car was in front or behind another. I attended the second show at 8:30 ( the production is 90 minutes) and it appeared to be a sell-out. Jane said there may have been 100 cars and if we assume an average of only two people per, that is an audience that is triple plus what they fit in their theater. The charge was per vehicle and the range from $25-$50 per car. The premium fees included a snack package ( water, candy, popcorn and of course, cookies ( Oil Lamp is known for its ability to keep snackers happy) plus distance from the screen.
They had a crew of volunteers who made it very smooth in and out. The drive-in concept was one night only, but I suggest they consider doing this more. Due to Covid, many of us have been “trapped” and need a night out. This works and at the same time is entertaining.
The play itself is cute and Lisa Dawn is a spectacular talent. Her character, Haley, is a single mom, raising a daughter in New York. She has devoted her life to getting her life together and has now found a great apartment ( rent controlled) a job that she shins at and a wardrobe that is every women’s dream. The 90 minutes we share with her are scenes of her discovery of who she is, where she has been and of course, where she is going. Although we never see the men she has encounters with, we know more about her life than one can expect to learn in her snippets. She becomes involved with the Romanian Mafia, the NYPD, a fix-up that has eyes for the waiters in the restaurant she manages, a date that she falls for, who has a live-in at home and many more. It turns out the one man she thought would never be part of her life, might just be the one! Yes, sometimes we do not see what is clearly in front of our face!
“Bad Dates” does have some language, but overall it is a great look at a life which could be very, very real.
Perhaps other theater companies will take a look at this concept and bring it to the city and other burbs. Let’s face it, we need entertainment and there are a great number of great one or two person shows that could easily be done in this 
manner. I for one love the drive -in concept and the way that we get to hear the sound in our cars from the radio ( they use an FM channel). FYI there were people who brought lawn chairs with and sat in the vacant parking spaces. They did not distract us and evidently had a good time.
Oil Lamp Theater is located in Glenview at 1723 West Glenview Rd and their phone is 847-834-0738
To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Bad Dates”
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