The Bad Daters
By Derek Murphy
Directed by Colm Summers
U.S. Premiere — Paradise Factory, New York
In colaboration with Strike Crew
ABOUT
For the U.S. premiere of Derek Murphy’s The Bad Daters, I was drawn to the distance between who we are and who we wish we could be for other people.
Wendy and Liam meet after each has been reluctantly pushed back into the dating world. What starts in the recognizable territory of romantic comedy gradually opens into something quieter and stranger: a play about grief, loneliness, self-protection, effort, and the possibility of making a life after loss.
CREATIVE TEAM
Playwright
Derek Murphy
Director
Colm Summers
Scenic Design & Props
Tyler Herald
Lighting Design
Betsy Chester
Costume Design
Kindall Houston Almond
Sound Design
Tye Hunt Fitzgerald
Technical Director
Chase McCloud
Associate Director
Austin Tooley
Stage Manager
Campbell Anidjar
Graphic Design
José Fresán
Marketing
Zachary Reiser / Neon Lights Digital Media
Production Photography
Emma Kazaryan
Photography
Devin Armstrong
Publicity
Ron Lasko / Spin Cycle
Director’s Assistant
Isabella Rossi
Producers
Ken Forman
Derek Murphy
Shane McNaughton
Charmaine Tangonan
Colm Summers
Paradise Factory in association with Strike Crew
CAST
WENDY
Kate Arrington
LIAM
Shane McNaughton
TALKS
The production included two post-show conversations:
May 7, 2026
Megan Nolan
May 16, 2026
Amy Nobile Messing / Love, Amy
Production Photography: Emma Kazaryan
PRESS
“Under Colm Summers’ exquisitely modulated direction … the production unfolds with a patience that feels almost radical.”
“His production’s rhythms are finely judged.”
— Tony Marinelli
“… under Colm Summers’s graceful direction, the play shifts quietly from rom-com into a delicate dual character study.”
“sparse staging strikes an instant, perfect tone”
— Juan A. Ramírez
“Colm Summers lets his broken cast stay broken. That’s exactly where momentum begins to build.”
— Matthew Gasda
“a winning blend of sharp Irish wit and disarming emotional honesty … a love story that earns its poignancy without sacrificing its bite.”
— Deirdre Donovan
“Positively brilliant…This play is a unicorn.”
— Nicole Jesson
“A complete and utter delight from beginning to end.”
— David Walters
“Crisp dialogue, exceptional acting, and great staging.”
— Ronni Burns
T&B On The Aisle
“Improbably funny, and decidedly dark.”
“simply yet elegantly staged”
“an intimate and immersive experience.”
— Adrian Dimanlig