Theatre
& Stage
reviews by SalsaChicago.com critic Al Bresloff
New
Appetite Theatre "An Empty Plate"
(thru 12/12)
There
are theaters all over the Greater Chicago
area- in store fronts, old lofts and of course
the Broadway type venues that grace our Theatre
District. If one searches they can find some
of these "little theaters" with
wonderful shows at affordable prices and we
now have a new group in Chicago- Appetite
Theatre in its first season performing at
various venues in Chicago. The mission of
this troupe is to present contemporary plays
that stimulate the palate of theatergoers
in an environment fueled by passion for the
arts. The first production. "An Empty
Plate in the Cafe' du Grand Boeuf" by
Michael Hollinger. The story is a true feast
of the imagination.
Try
to imagine a restaurant with no menu and one
patron; a chef who will artfully be ready
to serve any dish the patron desires. A restaurant
that is dedicated to being the finest in France
and yet the world cannot taste its wonderfulness.
The play takes place on an evening when the
sole patron (who as of late has been dining
with his lady friend) returns from Spain,
alone and somewhat depressed in mood. He informs
the staff that he has a very special request
; that he be allowed to tell his tale and
that he will not dine.Claude (Chris Maher
has all the right moves) proposes that as
Victor (John Coriell, who handles the role
well, but could use a little more range in
his voice) tells his tale, they present him
with a 7 course dinner, but with one major
difference- the plates will be empty. Each
course will be defined and described, but
nothing will be served. The point of this
is to tempt their patron through smell and
description to long for the dinner that he
is not being served.
This
is a story that deals with longings (Longing
is an essential part of living. Without desire,
people don't have the capacity for hope).
As Victor states in the words of Mr. Hollinger,
"Appetite, well that is something different.
It is hunger- with hope." This 100 minute
play (no intermission) deals with hunger,
hope, love, fear, devotion and sadness, but
does so with humor. Director Lauren Golanty,
states that this play is full of incredible
longing, but with a sense of humor. She has
used the small studio stage at The Viaduct
Theatre to its full advantage and has assembled
a cast of players that keeps this story moving
from minute 1 to minute 100. Liz Warton is
a wonderful Mimi (the waitress who is married
to Claude, but loved by the chef, Gaston (Michael
Graham). Ben Alvey is Antoine, a former bus-boy
being trained to be a waiter. He stutters,
is clumsy and as we see through some of the
action is hired because Claude is not sure
of the direction he wants to take (a very
small sub-plot in this script). Alexandra
Main is the final character in this story
and although we see her legs before she comes
on stage, her story becomes a very important
piece of the puzzle that has been created
to bring us to a surprise ending.
Ray
Vlcek's set is tastefully done and gives the
feeling that we are indeed down the stairs
in a hidden Bistro. This new troupe is very
food orientated. The program defines all of
the food terms that are used in the script-
just reading the program can make your mouth
water. Theater is often defined as an experience-
sometimes good, sometimes not so good. While
this is not an award winning production, the
script tells a wonderful story and the characters
are enjoyable to meet- this being said, an
ausience reaction is hard to judge when an
audience is small, so as the production continues,
I am hopeful that the audiences will increase
so that the true flavor of what this troupe
is trying to accomplish will take place. Let's
help this new group grow and prosper, so they
can bring more to us and pave the way for
other new groups to be.
"An
Empty Plate in the Cafe' du Grand Boeuf will
run through December 12th at the Viaduct Theatre
located at 3111 N. Western Ave. (just South
of Belmont on the East side of the overpass).
There
is parking under the viaduct (watch your head
as you walk to the theater) with performances
as follows:
