(All Photos by Meghan Moore)
by Deanna Dement Myers
Slow Food – Written by Wendy MacLeod; Directed by Artistic Director Sean Daniels. Scenic Design by Apollo Mark Weaver; Costume Design by Deborah Newhall; Lighting Design by Brian J. Lilienthal; Sound Design by David Remedios. Presented by the Merrimack Repertory Theater 50 E Merrimack St, Lowell through February 3
“Everybody needs a compliment now and again.”
A vacationing couple sits waiting for food in a restaurant, as they have many times over their long marriage. An obsequious waiter engages them with personal and extraordinary service. The man and woman want a meal. The waiter wants to make the evening perfect for them. What could possibly go wrong?
Over the next 95 minutes, everything that can go wrong, does. We’ve all been there on the first evening after a day of traveling when hangry overrules logic and civility. Playwright Wendy MacLeod has taken an ordinary occurrence and tweaked it into high comedy. The actors have great material to work with; dealing with this meal from hell parallels the work they need to do together as they face an empty nest and changing relationship. The aging waiter believes he is the epitome of hospitality, yet faces his own realization that he may have gotten derailed pursuing his dreams.
Each actor embodies their role so completely that it seems as if we are eavesdropping on them in an adjoining booth. There are many laugh-out-loud moments when the couple manages to trick the waiter into actually bring a portion of their meal. The snarky exchanges immediately soften and become conciliatory once hunger has been abated. This ebb and flow serves to reveal the real reasons a meal alone together can be so difficult as the couple explores how to be with each other again without the buffer of their children. The interminable lag between ordering and eating, is shyly filled with flirting and getting to know each other once again.
Brian Beacock has some moments when he channels Kristin Chenoweth in delivery and humor. His uptight portrayal of the Waiter is spot-on in rubbing the customers the wrong way. He brings depth to what could just be a cardboard straight man; we find ourselves caring about the things that ruffle his perfectly coiffed hair.
As the Woman in the couple, Daina Michelle Griffith is every woman who is desperate to have her husband recognize her as his wife, instead of the mother of his children. She’s spent years making everyone happy, and now it is her time. She uses her presence on the stage to reclaim her power as an attractive woman who is deeply invested in her relationships. She goes from compliant to flirty with masterful subtlety.
Joel Van Liew manages to avoid the aloof, high-power Man stereotype with his fine comedic timing. Our understanding of his drive and inability to express his vulnerability is due to the excellent vocal work and change in body language as he realizes is complicity in his wife’s unmet needs.
The unseen characters in the play add to the madcap mayhem in the restaurant as the waiter struggles to plate a meal for this couple on the verge of rediscovery. Though at times you might feel like you are at an alternate version of Sartre’s No Exit, you’ll want to spend time feasting on Slow Food. For tickets, visit www.mrt.org or contact the MRT Box Office at 978-654-4678.
