Have you ever noticed that dating shows give us every emotion but love?

American Conservatory Theater’s production of Nobody Loves You cheekily points out the fallacy of dating shows and our collective addiction to them. We’ve all seen them—reality television “stars” who go from their fifteen minutes of glorious fame only to crash and burn into the depths of internet “Where Are They Now?” listicles. And yet, the lines of hopefuls to get onto these shows stretch onward.

Berkeley locals Itamar Moses (book and lyrics) and Gaby Alter’s (music and lyrics) show is hilarious and has us questioning how strong the system of perceived reality, actually is.

No one knows this more than Jeff (A.J. Holmes), a cranky student searching for the subject of his philosophy dissertation. His perky and ever-positive girlfriend Tanya, played by Ashley D. Williams (note: she played multiple roles and was so good I had a hard time reminding myself she was the same person), unceremoniously dumps him while watching her favorite show, Nobody Loves You. Spurned, rejected, and desperate, Jeff chooses to infiltrate the loathsome show. His goal? To expose the false and manipulative system of reality television for his Ph.D. while simultaneously winning back Tanya’s affection.

In keeping with the rom-com narrative, Jeff finds himself uncomfortable, ensconced, and oddly beloved on the show, unable to leave. Surrounded by a group of narcissistic, reality show staple characters, Jeff soon finds that the louder he yells, the more his rebellion is commodified. However, this is a rom-com. Predictably, love soon blooms between Jeff and the equally spicy TV assistant producer Jenny (Kuhoo Verma). She tells Jeff, “You can perform or you can connect, but you can’t do both at the same time.” Good advice, but luckily for us, Jeff plows blindly ahead anyway.

The beauty of this story lies in the fact that no matter how hard Jeff rails against the machine, the more the system loves him. TV show host Byron (Jason Veasey) giddily swoons around the contestants as their puppeteer and background singer. He believes in the magic, and the magic is very clearly himself. And maybe that’s a little true. As he swans about the stage with a stellar crooning voice in brilliant costumes designed by Sarita Fellows it’s hard to argue. Moses and Alter play to what reality dating shows do best. Despite knowing better (Jeff told us so), we are drawn into the drama of the contestants.

Christian (Seth Hanson), who is a devout—wait for it—Christian, and mostly drunk Megan (Molly Hager) fall uproariously into the opposites-attract role. Meanwhile, validation-seeking and overthinking everything so hard it hurts, Samantha (Ana Yi Puig) crashes around, first falling for stupendously vapid Dominic (John-Michael Lyles), then whoever is in her view.

“Nobody Loves You is a show of nonstop fun”

Jenny sings her song of personal tragedy in “Jenny’s Song,”. In it she uses every inch of the tune to showcase her skill and range. And through all this, we, the audience, watch the drama unfold hungrily, laughing at the characters’ downfalls, groaning at the predictability of Jeff’s impotent rebellion, and become completely bewitched.

A dark and hilarious reminder that, fight though we may against it, we are no match for the machinery of gatekeepers and their manipulations. Nobody Loves You proves to be a show of nonstop fun.

Nobody Loves You

TONI REMBE THEATER
FEB 28–MAR 30, 2025

For tickets, visit their website.