On the steps, she waited. In her red shirt and dressy gray
pants, Juliet Gharibian awaited her fellow Art to Hearter. Dressed
in jeans and a checkered shirt, Matt Caplan appeared from the doors
of De Neve’s Acacia Hall carrying a pink rose.
First impressions for both daters were the same ““ though
both of them thought the other had a good personality, they
weren’t physically attracted to one another.
Gharibian and Caplan, first- and second-year students,
respectively, both describe themselves as outgoing and adventurous.
Apparently having similar self-descriptions doesn’t
necessarily equal a match.
“I’m just your average guy,” said Caplan, a
political science student. “My friends would say I’m
pretty loud and outgoing for the most part.”
Likewise, Gharibian considers herself a very outgoing and
friendly girl.
“I try to keep an open mind on everything I do and am very
willing to try being in new situations,” said Gharibian, a
first-year undeclared student.
Journeying into the heart of West Hollywood, the two left UCLA
to see the second opening of “turnaround” at the Coast
Playhouse. The play humorously recounts the story of Jeff Pelzman
““ a drug-addicted screenwriter who is sent to rehab and tries
to change his life, even though he continues to surround himself
with drug addicts who relentlessly attempt to lure him into the
world of drugs.
“turnaround” is the third in a trilogy of plays
written by Hollywood writer/director Roger Kumble. In his first,
“Pay or Play,” Jonathan Silverman (Television’s
“The Single Guy”) played the role of Jeff. Then in
Kumble’s second play “d-girl,” David Schwimmer
stepped into Jeff’s persona. In
“turnaround’s” first-run, Schwimmer again starred
as Jeff; the rest of the cast included Silverman and Tom Everett
Scott. Now Mark Feurstein (of “Good Morning Miami,”
incidentally the Thursday-night neighbor of “Friends”
on NBC) has taken over for Schwimmer in this biting comedy on the
ins and outs and ups and downs of Hollywood life.
“The performance was definitely a good play for a first
date,” Caplan said. “The play was extremely funny
““ the whole first act just showed how crazy the main
character was when he was on drugs.”
Not just a comedic play, however, the show ended with an
after-school-special message about leading your life the way you
want to and not giving into peer pressure or following the
crowd.
“The play dealt with a serious issue, but I enjoyed how
they managed to add a humorous twist to it,” said Gharibian.
“I thought it was great that they added the moral at the end
because it gave the play some depth and showed the audience there
was some meaning to the play.”
While Gharibian enjoyed the fact the moral was incorporated into
the play, Caplan thought he would have enjoyed it more without the
sappy life lesson.
“It made sense to have a moral at the end of the play to
give it some substance, but I think it would’ve been more
entertaining if they had made the whole thing entirely
funny,” he said.
Furthermore, Caplan, a Los Angeles native, liked that the play
was very L.A.-centric with its jokes and cynical commentary.
“At first I was worried that someone not from L.A., such
as Juliet, wouldn’t get some jokes because they focused very
much on L.A. For instance, in one scene the actors were jokingly
saying people were “˜from the Fairfax district ““ south
of Third,'” said Caplan.
They both agreed however, that the play created a pleasant
environment for the date.
“The play was humorous enough so that we could relax
during the show, but it also dealt with interesting issues so we
had something to talk about during intermission,” said
Gharibian. “It wasn’t the type of play that put a
damper on the evening ““ it wasn’t too serious or heavy
for a first date.”
Overall, the date didn’t lead these two into love at first
sight or create a spark for the future. According to Caplan, their
reality TV preferences were a real deal-breaker.
“We were definitely different people ““ our
personalities weren’t really alike at all,” said
Caplan. “And besides, she liked the
“˜Bachelorette’ and I’m more of a “˜Joe
Millionaire’ fan.”
But it couldn’t have been too bad ““ neither claimed
to be horrendously scarred by the experience and said they’d
both be willing to go on another blind date.
“Next time, though, I would want my friends to know the
guy ““ to pre-screen him,” Gharibian said.
Though their interest in each other seemed to flop like a dying
fish in the Hudson River, they did find a new interest in theater.
And in Art to Heart, finding art is half the battle.