'Strategic Love Play' review — Heléne Yorke and Michael Zegen flirt with disaster
Read our review of Strategic Love Play off Broadway, starring Heléne Yorke and Michael Zegen and presented by Audible Theater at the Minetta Lane Theatre.
Platforms like Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge have become such a bedrock of the modern dating scene that one can simply call them "the apps" without context, and people will know they mean dating apps. And yet, everyone I know who uses them seems to do so begrudgingly. Even the handful of couples whose online meetups have led to a long-term partnership (and even marriage) retain an apparent degree of surprise: "We met [insert app name]," they'll say. "Yeah, I know..."
Miriam Battye's Strategic Love Play speaks to the contradictions and frustrations of this reality if nothing else. For 75 minutes, we're privy to drinks between strangers Jenny (Heléne Yorke) and Adam (Michael Zegen), which begins as a total trainwreck. Morbid curiosity about what lurks beneath each other's first-date facades keeps them in their seats long enough to go from "I'm not what you want. You're not what I want" to "We could just stay together for, like. Ever." Jenny speaks these lines in the span of 30 seconds.
Seem sudden? It sure is. We're not necessarily meant to believe it. As Battye unravels the characters' romantic pasts (Adam's more so; Jenny's backstory is noticeably scarce), it becomes clear that neither of them is in the best place to be dating anyone, let alone each other. They just want to check "finding a person" off their societally mandated to-do lists, which is enough common ground to keep their date afloat a bit longer still. Battye's hit-and-miss script, similarly, is buoyed by the sharp comic performances of Yorke and Zegen, who keep us invested in their deeply flawed characters until the play's abrupt but satisfying end.
Strategic Love Play summary
Adam and Jenny meet on an online dating app and agree to have a drink (maybe two) at a restaurant. Jenny is as over-the-top and brash (a veneer over her vulnerability) as Adam is meek and reserved (a veneer over his sharp edges). She doesn't want to risk loving only to get thrown back out into the dating world, and he's hung up on someone he can't have.
In other words, they're both on this date for the wrong reasons. But, if they agree on that, does that make it a right reason? Can they risk-proof a relationship if they deliberately choose to, with ground rules and limits? Battye unpacks this experiment as her characters discuss their futures.
What to expect at Strategic Love Play
Strategic Love Play is tinged with surrealism. As though no one else is supposed to be in the restaurant, Yorke and Zegen freely gallivant about the singular table on stage, set atop a turntable (set design is by Arnulfo Maldonado). The doorway through which a bar top peeks out might as well be a portal to an unseen outside world where other people exist — and of course, where it's much less believable that two people would start planning forever within 40 minutes of meeting each other.
It's as though Yorke and Zegen's characters aren't in a restaurant at all, but a contained experiment made to look like one. Put two incompatible people who believe they're out of options in a date-like setting — what happens? Will real feelings develop anyway? The audience are the lab techs, observing, predicting, unseen.
What audiences are saying about Strategic Love Play
Strategic Love Play has a 57% approval rating on Show-Score, averaged from six audience member reviews. Viewers largely praised the performances but offered mixed responses to the plot.
- "[A] lot of fun for anyone who will recognize the experience of online dating fatigue. the 'why' behind the ending wasn't totally clear to me, and I felt like there were a few places where they could have dug a little deeper, but lots of funny and poignant moments that felt very familiar!" - Show-Score user Joanna 3201
- "A fly on the wall perspective of a 1st date, Strategic Love Play @AudibleTheater sure makes me glad I’m not in the dating world. Heléne Yorke & Michael Zegen’s acting is all that & a bag (bowl?) of chips, leaving you guessing how things will turn out until the final moments." - X user @ZaudererJosh
- "The script & story was super mid, but perhaps I’m biased for being in an 8-year relationship unfamiliar with the current dating scene. Highly recommend if you’re a fan of either actor— they’re both incredible. Entertaining commentary on the dating scene, super quick in 75 minutes." - Reddit user Common_Formal1282
Read more audience reviews of Strategic Love Play on Show-Score.
Who should see Strategic Love Play
- Anyone who's ever been on the dating apps — and particularly those who use them begrudgingly — will likely find parts of Strategic Love Play relatable.
- Fans of Yorke's comedic work on The Other Two and Zegen's on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel will enjoy seeing them tap into those chops up close.
- Fans of shows that flip common romance tropes on their head will enjoy the unique premise of Strategic Love Play. Even the cheesy bits are delivered with a wink, signaling that these characters' relationship is anything but predictable.
- Strategic Love Play would make a great date-night show at any stage of a relationship. First-date-goers might feel relieved that any awkwardness they may feel is nothing like the characters', and those in long-term relationship will be relieved to be out of the chaotic dating scene that overwhelms the characters.
Learn more about Strategic Love Play off Broadway
Strategic Love Play is like a good first date that nonetheless lacks a spark — it's not memorable enough for a second round, but a pleasant time while you're there, largely due in part to Yorke and Zegen's individual excellence and common chemistry.
Photo credit: Strategic Love Play off Broadway. (Photos by Joan Marcus)
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