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NJT Closes Out Their 2024 Season with Musical Comedy “First Date”
New Jewish Theater will close out their 2024 season with the romantic musical
comedy First Date, with a Book by Austin Winsberg, and Music and Lyrics by Alan
Zachary and Michael Weiner. Running Thursday, Nov. 21 through Sunday, Dec. 8,
performances will take place in the J’s Wool Studio Theatre.
The idea for a musical that chronicles the highs and lows of a blind date was hatched in
the L.A. coffee bars where the three writers and friends gathered to commiserate about their love lives.
The show’s World Premiere in 2012 at Seattle’s ACT Theatre, was so successful that
it transferred quickly to Broadway where a production starring Zachary Levi and
Krysta Rodriguez appeared in 2013. This will be its first production in the St. Louis
area. The story follows blind date newbie Aaron (Mitch Henry-Eagles), who is set up
with serial-dater Casey (Molly Wennstrom). They meet for a casual drink at a busy
New York restaurant that turns into a hilarious high-stakes dinner.
As the date unfolds in real time, the couple quickly finds that they are not alone on this
unpredictable evening. In a delightful and unexpected twist, Casey and Aaron’s inner critics take on
a life of their own when other restaurant patrons transform
into supportive best friends, manipulative exes and protective parents, who sing and
dance them through icebreakers, appetizers and potential conversational land
mines.
First Date is directed and choreographed by Lee Anne Mathews, who previously
directed Raging Skillet and Imagining Madoff for NJT. The Musical Director is Larry
D. Pry, who won the 2023 St. Louis Circle Award for Best Music Direction for NJT’s
Into the Woods. The cast is led by Henry-Eagles (making his NJT debut) and
Wennstrom (returning to NJT after appearing in Into the Woods, Dear Jack, Dear
Louise, and Jerry’s Girls). Will Bonfiglio is making his way back to the NJT stage as
the Waiter after his recent one-man performances in Every Brilliant Thing and Fully
Committed.
“First Date” at the J’s Wool Studio Theatre (2 Millstone Campus Drive, St. Louis,
MO 63146), running Nov. 21 to Dec. 8. Performances are on Thursdays at 7:30 pm,
Saturdays at 4pm and 8pm, and Sundays at 2 pm, except for Thanksgiving weekend
where there will be no Thursday show, but a special “Black Friday Getaway
Matinee” at 2 pm on Nov. 29. Individual tickets are $27- $58. Tickets are available by
phone at 314.442.3283 or online at newjewishtheatre.org.
