Cool Breeze

Vanessa is a sultry, self-possessed woman sitting alone at the bar, idly stirring her drink, waiting for someone. Jake, a 40-something divorced barfly in a Tommy Bahama shirt, mistakes her solitude for an invitation and tries to charm his way into her evening. Vanessa sees through him immediately, but lets the conversation continue long enough for Jake’s bluster to soften into something more human. Soon, their exchange becomes less about seduction than misreading — how desire, ego, loneliness, and projection can turn a stranger into a fantasy. When the person Vanessa is waiting for finally arrives, Jake is left to face a quiet correction to everything he thought was happening.

Jake is a deceptively funny role for an actor in his 40s: a divorced barfly who mistakes a beautiful woman sitting alone for an invitation. The part gives an actor bravado, obliviousness, comic persistence, and a flicker of real vulnerability — a role for someone who can make a fool’s-rush-in pickup artist unexpectedly human.

Vanessa is a sly, cheeky role for an actress in her 30s: a beautiful woman waiting at the bar who sees through Jake’s come-on instantly but lets the conversation play out for her own amusement. The part gives an actress intelligence, control and dry humor — in a part for someone who can hold a room without ever seeming to try.