Theatre in Review: Play/Date (Fat Baby)

The rage for immersive theatre reaches a new extreme with Play/Date. Pay attention, now, because this one has many facets: As the title suggests, the production takes inventory of the (very occasional) joys and (seemingly endless) woes that make up the hunt for romance in Manhattan. This being the 21st century, however, you can begin to experience the play well before you attend. On purchasing your ticket, you can log on to Facebook and Twitter to friend and follow the characters who populate the evening. Presumably, they won’t waste your time with pictures of food and cat videos, like your real friends do. If, like me, you wonder when theatregoing became so difficult — do I really have to do homework before the show begins? — you can skip that part and show up at Fat Baby, a three-level bar on Rivington Street where Play/Date is housed. As conceived by Blake McCarty, a variety of dating dramas unfold all over the place. You are free to view them as you will: If you want to skip around, taking in bits and pieces of each brief encounter, fine. If you’d prefer to pick one and see it through before moving on to the next, no worries. I chose the latter approach.