'Bad Dates' - great performance

The shoes are tangential. Yes, there are dozens (perhaps more than 100) pairs of Salvatore Ferragamo, Jimmy Choos and Stewart Weitzmans lined up like whimsical toy soldier battalions dominating the set of the Northlight Theatre production of "Bad Dates." But they really don't have so much to do with Theresa Rebeck's delightful if insubstantial dramatic comedy.

"Bad Dates" begins like a Meg Ryan comedy and then veers into dramatic territory with just enough danger to temporarily darken the edges. The reason to see it is for the understated bravura turn by actor Beth Broderick as waitress-turned-restaurateur Haley Walker. Broderick has her work cut out for her: This is a one-woman show that feels like it's one for reasons of convenience rather than artistic merit.

In addition to the men of the titular dates, Haley's 13-year-old daughter, gay brother, best friend and a thug from the Romanian Mafia figure prominently in the plot. We get to know all these people through Haley's monologues -- aimed conversationally at the audience -- and onstage "dialogue" Haley has over the phone and through doorways. The artifice wears thin about an hour into the 90-minute production. Haley's life is dictated by folks who are always in the next room or at the other end of a distant phone line.

Even so, Haley is a marvelous companion for the evening. Broderick addresses the audience directly, but with the confiding ease of a good friend. Within moments, you forget you're listening to monologues and fall into what feels like a completely natural (if one-sided) conversation with Haley Walker. She's "just another person who married a moron and had a load of (crap) to deal with," Haley recounts, and so reveals herself as a wonderfully flawed and resourceful woman.

We learn Haley was a waitress in Texas who lit out for New York with her young daughter after the man she married turned abusive. She found her niche overseeing a New York City restaurant that became a trendy hotspot under her management. We find that after years of devoting her body and soul to the eatery, Haley's decided to start dating again. Her hormones are screaming for sex and her heart is telling her that maybe it's possible to have both love and a career.

This sets the stage for the round of bad dates that comprise the bulk of "Bad Dates." When Rebeck teeters into cliche (one man natters on about his digestive tract, another is perfect but not single), she also redeems herself with bluntly hilarious truths about sex and repulsive French kissing.

The Romanian Mafia subplot is a stretch, but it's not totally beyond the pale. Keen direction by Judith Ivey keeps Broderick on the move throughout "Bad Dates," changing outfits, laying out accessories and criss-crossing Tom Burch's spacious New York apartment set without ever seeming contrived. "Bad Dates" maintains its momentum throughout, and that's a testament both to Ivey's solid direction and Broderick's prowess as a comedic actor.