Windy City Playhouse, king of the immersive theater concept in Chicago, is back with a brand-new spin on how to insert audiences into a theatrical performance. With Recipe for Disaster, they’ve gone in a completely different direction and partnered with Chicago restaurant royalty to show how malleable and fun live theater can be.
Rick Bayless, avid theater supporter and hometown culinary titan, is said to have masterminded this wild farce that has the energy and spirit of a rambunctious two-year-old. The show’s straightforward premise opens the door to an avalanche of problems that restaurants routinely face; and highlights, through unrelenting comedy, how setbacks get turned into miracles behind the kitchen door.
It’s Influencer Night, a special evening for the restaurant when it’s especially important to shine. Hurdles that are high, difficult and numerous pop up immediately. The chef calls in with a prima donna excuse for not coming in. Jude (Ben Paige), the restaurant’s top assistant chef, isn’t feeling taking over the number one spot. With just six months under his belt, he doesn’t feel ready to lead the show and displays all the signs of imploding. Most critically, the star ingredient, a whole sucking pig, hasn’t and won’t be supplied by the restaurant’s purveyor.
Immersive productions can start stealthily and in unexpected places. The audience has been patiently milling about in what would have been the foyer of standard theater. Taking over the lower level of Petterino’s restaurant on the corner of Dearborn and Randolph, the waiting space in Recipe for Disaster is just part of the set. Shelly (Emma Jo Boyden) suddenly appears at a hostess station of what we learn is The Contumacious Pig, the play’s fictitious restaurant. Unavoidably overhearing her heated telephone conversations with the chef and the supplier told us that neither would be making an appearance. Her prompt shift into fifth fix-it gear heralded the play’s lift off.
Before following the action from the lobby to the restaurant stage right, the audience had already been served a few small somethings to “amuse the mouth”; all part of evening menu. Both the cheese stuffed dates and freshly made hummus and tomatoes on pita flirted with exceptional. And the Chicago Paloma, a tequila cocktail that incorporated Malort, devised by Bayless’s daughter, Lanie, left a highly admirable impression. Despite the lighthearted approach to the storyline, the food and drink were intended to be taken seriously.
Back in the restaurant’s kitchen, everything was pretty much up for grabs. With so many things already in disarray, a surprise visit by a health inspector, Clyde (Ryan Reilly) ratcheted up the stakes and added to the sense of mayhem. Bottom of the pecking order, Felix (Daniel Trinidad), had the unenviable job of scoring and hiding the non-USDA grade pig. And it was up to Iggy (Alex Morales), back of the house jack of all trades, to pump up the sous chef and get him through the night. That task may not have gone well, but he certainly addressed it with sensational aplomb.
With a string of restaurants under his control and decades of experience, you’d think Bayless alone would have a thousand stories about what goes on behind that kitchen door. The five member writing team that included Bayless, his wife and fellow restauranteur Deann, Windy City Playhouse co-founder Amy Rubenstein, playwright Carl Menninger and Kevin Sullivan, still engaged in rigorous in-depth research to make sure their hilarious take on restaurant reality was thorough. It doesn’t appear they missed anything. The behind the scenes romances, the mystery pill that leave the step-up chef compromised, rodents; it was all there and plenty more.
It was also interesting to see how we, the dining public, can look to restaurant professionals. Carley Cornelius as Kiki and Kierra Bunch as Loreen are pals and “posers” who together give diners a bad name. Vain and affected, Kiki’s protestations about meat consumption sound far too sanctimonious to be sincere and Loreen’s incessant urge to pilfer just about anything she can get her hands on doesn’t even approach subtle.
The nature of immersive theater often necessitates multiple scenes happening simultaneously. Because the restaurant in Recipe for Disaster is longer than it is deep, those seated at the far southern end of the space would have a hard time seeing and hearing anything going on the north end. Although pivotal kitchen action happened in the center, subplots and side stories played out on either end of the room were used to bolster the play’s color and hilarity; keeping the tempo at full charge. Despite being very attractive, the room felt slightly tight. And even though house rules encouraged “freely moving about the space to catch all the action”, doing so didn’t seem advisable because it might restrict the movement of the actors. Other house rules, like encouraging “gabbing” quietly with your table mates and neighbors just added to the conviviality of the experience.
It’s common knowledge that restaurant work is probably some of the most demanding you’ll find in our current economy. Acting in a farce about restaurants isn’t for the faint hearted either. Felix has few lines but is in constant motion. He also displayed the dexterity and acrobatic talents to put in a stint with the Blue Man Group. The pace and physicality set by director David Bell may have been formidable; but it also felt authentic and did a wonderful job of portraying industry inflicted stress.
It’s rare to go to a performance and feel you’ve just gained valuable insights through your funny bone, but Recipe for Disaster pulled that feat off with ease. And the food and drink, with one intentional exception, never descended to mediocre.
Recipe for Disaster
October 13 – December 31, 2021
Petterino’s/ 150 N. Dearborn
windycityplayhouse.com
