Mark Your Calendar for SAVE THE DATE

I can't say all that I want to about fellow Crazytown blogger Gregory Jacobs-Roseman's wedding-themed musical, Save the Date, because I need to wake up early tomorrow to embark on my own weekend wedding adventure, but I did need to express how wonderful this show is. While the premise is simple -- a story of almost-thirty somethings making their way through wedding season, which hits an especially rocky time when one of their exes announces his engagement -- there is a lot of heart and warmth here. Save the Date is not a parody of young people rejecting the traditions of love, rather it's an empathetic examination of the pressures felt to grow up and what that means when everyone else seems to be on a timeline of life milestones. The four central characters are really well drawn with a believable dynamic, and the plot twists manage to negotiate rom com territory with some real sincere moments.

 
Clips from first developmental reading presentation at the NYU GMTWP

The strength of the show definitely comes from the strong cast that embraces its roles with energy and feeling of cohesiveness. Greg's script and score are also wonderful, both infused with wit and humor. His lyrics especially soar in many of the numbers, drawing great parallels between characters and always moving the plot forward. I thought the direction also helped the production feel very full-bodied, transitioning rather seamlessly and balancing all the characters in any given scene.

Ultimately, something I really treasured about this show was how much it was a story about dreams and fantasies unfulfilled. There are a lot of great fantasy sequences that have real world impacts on the characters in how they view the world. Perhaps I also read into it my own feelings as I prepare for a wedding ceremony, but I thought a lot of the ideas it presented were accurate to the many emotions these traditions can bring about. Save the Date is a great show, and a wonderful value for a Fringe show. Catch the rest of their performances by buying tickets here.