LET’S EAT!

F. J. Hartland

Week Two of the Pittsburgh New Works Festival is bound to make you hungry.

It’s all about food!

There’s a play about two bread bakers sandwiched in (pun intended) between two plays set in restaurants.

The evening kicks off with Fetish by Joseph Talarico and presented by The Red Masquers.  A British couple meet for a blind date.  They’re complete opposites—but they do have one thing in common.  A shared sexual fetish.  The handsome Justin Mohr gives a moving performance—especially when he confesses the shame he feels about his fetish, and the delightful Allison Fatla scores big laughs with her inappropriate table manners and talk.  Playwright Talarico has written a most unfortunate “time passes” pause into the script.  Not only does the break hurt the rhythm of the piece, it also makes it two VERY different plays that never truly reconcile; the script never really leads to a “pay off.”

Produced by McKeesport Little Theatre Bread by Randy Gross tells the story of two bakers—one American, one Iranian—who communicate via text messages. Their lives are different, yet eerily the same.  Director Chuck Penick has gotten charming performances from Robert O’Toole (as Ike, the American) and Bruce E. Travers (as Ali, the Iranian).  Both men are widowers; each has a child.  While the play has great promise, playwright Gross has resorted to a “dues ex machine” conclusion that seems a little too “pat.”  Also, Ryan Baker and Emily Cordes are forced to act characters that are written in a flat, single dimension.

Directed by lance-eric skapura and produced by Thoreau, NM—a Production Company, the bill of one-acts concludes with Pete Barry’s Sex with a Mathematician.  Again, two mismatched souls meet on a blind date in a restaurant.  Both possess great minds.  Sara Fisher plays “Sara,” a sexy and edgy mathematician while Andy Coleman portrays “Nikolai,” a conservative actuary.  Barry’s word play is witty and clever, and Fisher and Coleman prove they are up to the challenge. Kudos to director skapura, who has made the potentially static situation of two people sitting and talking in a restaurant visually interesting.  The two main actors (as well as Chelsea Forbes, who plays the server) keep the play light and frothy and fun!  The script could be tightened though by cutting about five minutes, but otherwise is fresh and laugh-out-loud funny.

Week Two of the Pittsburgh New Works Festival continues through Sunday, September 19.  See pittsburghnewworks.org for information.