Dissecting the Internet Dating Scene

Even though “Matchless.com,” a part of the first annual Midwinter Madness Short Play Festival, will make any audience laugh their guts off, it is especially hilarious for those who had ever tried online dating. Not only does it portray the freaks that surf the web “looking for love,” but it also suggests some reasons why there is always something wrong with Internet daters. The play (written and directed by Katie Rader) won’t make you think a lot, but it will entertain you.

As the main character, Linda (Elizabeth Harnett), who hasn’t been on a date in 25 years, decides to try her luck looking for a man online, she goes a long way from believing in honesty and modesty to aiming at merely “scoring the first date.” Every other man she meets has a mental or self-esteem problem, and as the time goes on, Linda becomes discouraged and more careless.

Indeed, if you meet Jerry (Rick Beebe), a man whose profile is nothing more than a myriad of lies, or Gene (John D’Agostino), a guy with OCD and schizophrenia, or Jet/Walter (Michael Nastu), a “rock star” who goes on a date with his mother in a wheelchair, wouldn’t you lose all the hope? With every new meeting, Linda’s clothes lose their neatness and elegance, and the time she sets aside for each man reduces from 15 to five minutes, and the audience understands that the effects of online dating on a sane person are in no way virtual ones.

Being a background for the funny plot, the setting of the play is quite simple. There is nothing else but a dining table with some food and water on the stage. Every date takes place in a restaurant (probably, the same place every time, too). Food varies, while water is a necessary element. There are no alcoholic drinks served until the end, and it is not clear who pays the bills, as only on one date does Linda yell asking for her check, but no waitress appears.

As a brilliant addition to the comical plot of the play, acting makes “Matchless.com” unbearably humorous. You can’t hold your laughs even if you try hard when you look at the characters’ faces and watch the way they move. The audience’s observations are similar to Linda’s, as she, too, tries to catch every detail about the main she sees for the first time at this restaurant.

As far as acting skills are concerned, Elizabeth Harnett has the most difficult and the most exciting role, as her character shows the most development. Her facial expressions when she is intimidated, disgusted or shy change to relief so quickly when her cell phone rings and “it’s an emergency,” giving her an opportunity to leave. Her hands are restless; her posture is the bent back of a woman who was alone for so long that she is now nervous and even uncomfortable about going on a date. In short, as we see a lot of her on the stage, her image is the most complete, whereas, all the men she dates seems to be sketched, since they show up for one scene only with one exception.

The exception is Rick Beebe, as he plays two different characters, one, Jerry, in the beginning of the play and the other one, Brad, at the end. It is amusing that these two characters are complete opposites, as Brad truly is all Jerry lied in his profile he was; Jerry is unduly familiar, while Brad is bashful and respectful. Looking at this last date in the play, the audience can’t help wondering what would have happened if Brad was the first man Linda met on that website.