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Aleah Liebenau struck campy gold after finding a copy of the ’80s board game Heart-throb: The Dream Date Game at a thrift shop 15 years ago. As with so many ironic purchases, the game turned from a guilty pleasure into a real one. The comedian started busting it out at parties over the years, finding that her guests enjoyed the sappy dating simulator as much as she did. Her favorite classic character is Matt, the deadhead hippie.
“I thought the game was so silly, so I played it with all my friends,” Liebenau tells WW via email. “Every single friend of mine that played the game loved it! I was really trying to make the Heart-throb dream come true.”
If you need a refresher, Heart-throb players take turns over three rounds getting to know three boys from a deck of 59 photo cards and a few decks of personality trait cards. As The Simpsons joked nearly 30 years ago in a 1996 episode, half the fun is deciding who you want to go steady with from the randomized decks and half is seeing who your friends choose, with points awarded for correct guesses.
Mack Magee was one of many to fall under Liebenau’s love spell. They first connected at a waxing appointment—Liebenau is also an esthetician—and within months became “comedy besties.” After playing Heart-throb during their show Queer AF, they realized the game needed its own regular show. Since July, Liebenau and Magee have hosted the monthly improv comedy show Heart Throb: The Dream Date Show, throwing in elements of other love games like The Bachelor and The Dating Game. Heart Throb usually takes place at Funhouse Lounge, happening this month on Saturday, Jan. 11, but will move its Valentine’s Day special over to Kickstand Comedy on Friday, Feb. 14.
“Pushing monogamy is a very funny thing to do in Portland, especially when you have a very queer and polyamorous audience,” Magee says of Heart Throb and playing up her host character’s schmaltzy investment in the game like historic Bachelor host Chris Harrison.
Liebenau and Magee up the ante at Heart Throb by casting local standup and improv comedians as contestants, assigning them fake personalities and biographies and seeing if the audience agrees with their contestant’s choices. Plenty get assigned unlikable characters, like Kenny Tam’s evil CEO persona during a round featuring Erica Figueroa, or former WW Funniest Five winner Joe John Sanchez III’s “amazing rich douchebag” for Delaney Malone’s heart.
“The heels never win, but they are very fun for the audience to hate,” Magee says.
As one might expect at a standup-improv comedy show, Heart Throb gets messier than most board games. Liebenau and Magee both fondly recall the moment Ally J. Ward allowed contestant Devin Devine to spit pickle juice into her mouth. From there, it was love at first brine as Ward reportedly chose Devine as her heartthrob.
“Winning someone’s love is hard, so we’ve had people give gifts, sing and even juggle knives to win their heart,” Liebenau sats.
Liebenau and Magee pull from both local improv and standup talent pools when booking, crafting the show around suitors they think will be best for their bachelor or bachelorette. Sparks often fly onstage—Magee recounted how an audience member nearly charmed his way into the game for Figueroa’s heart, while Liebenau recalled a steamy makeout session between two comedians—and the hosts hope 2025 is the year Heart Throb makes lasting love connections.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if that happens in the future,” Magee says, “if it hasn’t happened already.”
SEE IT: Heart Throb: The Dream Date Show at Funhouse Lounge, 2432 SE 11th Ave., 503-841-6734, funhouselounge.com. 10 pm Saturday, Jan. 11. $10.