The audience reaction to last night’s production of “Dinner” was tepid at best.
The promising evening opened with red wine, but immediately began a downhill descent with the old gag; “Can’t get the broken cork out of the bottle”.
The television in the adjoining performance space was a distraction and at one point the entire audience got up and went to watch it.
There was no overture of salad on this evening and this production certainly could have used one.
The main act consisted of a trio of healthy and inexpensive performers that in combination left the audience wanting more. One disgruntled patron was heard to remark, “Each of these goes with something else.” There was no star on the plate this night.
Acorn squash baked with garlic has received critical acclaim in the past, but on this evening did not deliver. It was perhaps because the squash in question was from a grocery store and not a green market. It was a little stringy, but that is no excuse. Even soy sauce did not bring out the expected flavor. The couscous with “weird stuff in it”, Trader Joe brand Harvest Grains blend, was another disappointment. The last minute addition of the popular performer, frozen peas, failed to bring back the audience. The strongest member of the ensemble, teriyaki marinated tofu, put in another good performance and was fairly well received by an audience in the habit of calling for an encore, but not on this evening.
In the future the producers would do well to keep their vegetarianism and frugality to themselves as it does not please this audience.