PSU Theatre- Elucidating and Satirizing The Art of Dining

Plymouth State Theatre refined “The Art of Dining” with their production of the Tina Howe play, which opened on October 21st for a three day run. The show unfolded on the Silver Cultural Art Center’s Hanaway Stage where it reinvented the phrase “comedy of manners,” with its quick-witted plotline orbiting the quirky antics of an upscale New Jersey Restaurant. Design and Technology major Kristine Silver conceived an appropriately elegant set that was aesthetically pleasing on the most fundamental of levels. Five Romanesque pillars subtly segmented the dining area, complemented by the placement of three simple, round tables. A leathery, green plant tucked into a corner spanned the height of the stage, forming the impression of a cathedral ceiling. Compounding the effect was a small golden chandelier casting gentle illumination onto the tables below. Other particularly conspicuous elements of the set included a collection of old-fashioned double doors and an eye-catching brass sculpture of a horse. Sharply contrasting with the ornate dining area, the kitchen area was all simplicity. Dominated by a silver chef’s counter, the area also contained a plain kitchen stove and a standard beige refrigerator. PSU graduate, Lauren Audette, was responsible for illuminating the set with a subtle and serviceable lighting design. The dining area was lit in a dim manner that contrasted slightly with the more abrasive light used to light the kitchen area. The quiet discord between the two areas of the set paralleled the marked incongruence between façade of the seemingly stable and poised restaurant and the chaos ensuing behind closed doors in the kitchen. The contrast between apparent poise and actual chaos was a constant theme in the show, which satirized the formal dining experience, focusing largely on the idiosyncrasies and dysfunctions that are inevitable within human nature, despite efforts to conceal them. The actors were challenged by an intricately layered dialogue, but prevailed to portray a diverse array of characters. Theatre majors Stephanie Johnson and Dane Grigas bantered with ease in the roles of Ellen and Cal, the entrepreneurial wife and husband who own newly opened The Golden Swan Restaurant. Grigas delivered a dynamic portrayal of the frazzled and easily flustered lawyer-turned-small businessman. His mannerisms were consistent and appeared effortless. Johnson countered with her performance as the levelheaded Chef Ellen, who soothed her overly excited husband. She also displayed a more passionate side of her character, crooning to her fruits and vegetables as she concocted gourmet food for ravenous customers. Michelle Miller delivered another notable performance in the complex role of Elizabeth Barrow Colt. Miller, a senior Theatre major, successfully navigated a plethora of emotional states running the gamut from nervous to contemplative. Her clumsiness elicited laughter from the audience when she spilled soup on her borrowed dress, but she silenced the crowd with a frank account of her mother’s suicide attempt, tying the knot with the perfectly executed line “My mother was so beautiful, you know? People turned around.” Colleen Rowland, Lina Vong, and Rachel Dulude added a dash of sass to the show as a Nessa Vox, Herrick Simmons, and Tony Stassio, a trio of spry socialites who had the audience chuckling when they tripped over the pronunciation of virtually everything on the menu. Rowland, a PSU senior also seen in The Crucible and How I Learned to Drive, delivered a stinging monologue in which her character embarrasses dining companion Tony Stassio (Dulude) by divulging some less than flattering eating habits to her fellow diners. Any who best remembered Ryan Sturgis as Austin in last fall’s True West would have been hard pressed to recognize him as family man and subdued husband Paul Galt. The PSU junior and theatre major took full advantage of the opportunity to prove his versatility, slipping easily into the fussy manner of his character. Rounding out the cast was an exuberant Mimi Gindhoff, playing opposite Sturgis as Hannah Galt, and Derek Friend, who countered Miller’s Elizabeth Barrow Colt as the composed David Oslow.