Bad Dates, Huntington Theatre Company, Boston, through March 3. 617-266-0800, 617-933-8600 and huntingtontheatre.org
Call ''Bad Dates'' an ideal rendezvous for longtime couples and newcomers alike. Talented local favorite Theresa Rebeck (2006 IRNE and Norton best play winner ''Mauritius'' and no less than three Brandeis degrees) turned this 2003 one-woman play into an eye-catching three-course match-up offering.
Richly flavoring savvy New York restaurant manager Haley's vivid reflections is a large shoe-dominated Brooklyn bedroom. Gifted designer Alexander Dodge (''Present Laughter'') has once again (the first time 2004) turned the Huntington Theatre Company mainstage into this silent but revealing present day setting, a character all its own.
Haneefah Wood (supporting IRNE for Huntington's rollicking ''Vanya, Sonya, Masha and Spike'') is jazzing up the play's quirky but appealing narrative with a performance as fresh and satisfying as that of role originator Julie White.
Do not be fooled, though, by appearances. Haley may rival Imelda Marcos with a 600-pair footwear collection ranging from zebra stripes to gold lame and boasting Jimmy Choo high heels and legendary Chanel pumps, but Rebeck's Off-Broadway hit is essentially no chick play.
Some theatergoers may try to attribute their enjoyment to White and Wood's respective considerable talents. Yet a close look at Haley's experiences reveals an exploration of connections and misconnections that male and female audience members should appreciate.
Joan Crawford fans will appreciate similarities between not only Haley and Mildred Pierce but also between her back story and significant plot factors in the famous 1945 film of the same name. Like Pierce, Haley rises from considerable experience as a waitress to a management position.
If Crawford's character eventually becomes an owner, the play's manager has had to assume greater than usual responsibility at the New York Times-praised high profile restaurant in question after the jailing of shady Romanian owner Veljko for unscrupulous business activities. Family affinities include marital difficulties with a handsome rogue husband (Haley's Roger and Mildred's Monte) and similarly named daughters (Haley's Vera and Mildred's Veda).
A key difference here finds Haley's unseen 13 year old daughter providing sought-after reactions to the former's eclectic outfits-credit to costume designer Sarah Loux-while Mildred's daughter rewards her ongoing caring with malevolent defiance. Haley even has a good friend and bartending colleague named Eileen who often serves as an anchor a la former restaurant supervisor Ida to owner Mildred.
Throughout this alternately light-hearted and thoughtful no-intermission 90-minute play, Haley searches in a variety of locations for a personal anchor of love and happiness. In many ways the most memorable part of her search takes place at a benefit for Tibetan Buddhists.
Here she meets an unusual man so interested in insects that she refers to him as ''Bug Man.'' When she soon returns to the dating world, though, she goes out with a man who seems OCD about his colon and his cholesterol yet actually orders a high cholesterol meal.
Agreeing next to a blind date arranged by her mother, Haley finds this tenured Columbia law professor cute, sees that he is flirting with their waiter and realizes that he is gay. Her next possibility, an Armani-suited date by the name of Lewis, may come across as elegant and accessible but seems to have issues.
Haley is ironically approaching a moment of truth about her own issues. Could she have been laundering money? What is the impact of her boss' return? Will she need a lawyer of her own? The surprise arrival of an elusive but ultimately solid acquaintance does provide a hopeful answer to the last of these questions.
As for the appeal of the play itself, versatile Haneefah Wood's large talent presents a Michelin star-worthy platter of pleasures. She delivers Haley's account of each date with a jazzy movement and a fiery delivery that coordinate crisply with the restaurant manager's diverse attire and diverse reactions.
High points include her amusing selective inventory-like detailing of her shoes, her well-timed outfit changes as she runs through her preparation for dates, her feedback about the Tibetan Buddhist benefit and especially her evolving feeling about Bug Guy.
Wood is so persuasive about what can be considered a shoe fetish that even her talk of framing the Chanel pair that no longer fits easily rings true. Like Julie White before her, Haneefah Wood proves herself the kind of consummate actress that warrants attention no matter where she may be.
"Bad Dates'' may be more of a virtuoso turn than a fully arresting play, but Wood's wonderfully funky performance is a must-see rendezvous.