Ok ladies and gentlemen of the theater going public, yes, I did see Bad Dates. Yes, I enjoyed it. Yes, I agree that Michele Ragusa is charismatic and engaging and talented. Yes, I knew that I would not be seeing Oedipus Rex before I arrived at the theater.

The point of the evening is entirely summed up when the lights first come up on the cast of Gilligan’s Island: the Musical, and audience lets out a delighted laugh of recognition. This is a nostalgia show. Actually once we’ve seen the characters, there’s not much left to do but wallow in the naïve comedy in the style of 1960s sitcoms.

Serious drama can be a critical free space. Offered far less often than frivolous comedy, the gravity of its scope provides self-justification. A film like Brokeback Mountain, for instance, a lightweight and predictable Hollywood melodrama, albeit gloriously filmed, provides an ennobling experience to audiences at many levels—straight audiences feel insightful; gay audiences feel reinforced, and so forth. To be serious in tone is often to be taken seriously.