“Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner”
Hartford Stage, Hartford
through April 1
By Bernadette Johnson
Hartford Stage has little onstage, but a lot on its plate with Luis Alfaro’s comedy, or more aptly, tragi-comedy, a tale of two sisters with voracious appetites — one for food, the other for sex — and both with unresolved issues.
The script is never rolling-in-the-aisles funny, though there are many chuckles and some interesting commentaries on life and human foibles. The audience is expected, however, to swallow a great deal as Minerva, the food-crazed sister, balloons from obese to buoyant and literally “lifts off.” This script is not tethered in reality.
That said, Elisa Bocanegra as Minerva is outstanding and convincing. She struggles as much physically with her ever-expanding girth — difficulty walking, labored breathing — as she does psychologically, with its impact on her life. (Kudos to costume designer Christopher Acebo — Minerva’s added pounds look “natural”). Minerva’s monologue “letters” to Mee Chee, a “fat-farm” soul mate, are moving and tender, and Bocanegra infuses vulnerability. Yetta Gottesman as Alice is pert and saucy, and the “love” scenes with “Officer” Fernandez (James Martinez) are refreshingly uninhibited.
Act two introduces odd elements that for some strange reason, the other characters — Felix Solis as Minerva’s understanding husband Al among them — accept as normal, and the plot thickens, but never quite solidifies. The play’s end is ambiguous — leaving the audience wondering what really happened.
The “simple scene” changes are fast-paced (aptly by stagehands dressed as chefs), though perhaps too frequent and distracting, and a refrigerator and beds figure prominently. Perhaps more aptly titled “Bed and Breakfast,” “BL&D” is a lot to digest. As Alice tells Fernandez late in Act II, not only do “We never quite get what we want,” but we don’t even have a clue as to what that might be. It’s simply not on the menu.
through April 1
By Bernadette Johnson
Hartford Stage has little onstage, but a lot on its plate with Luis Alfaro’s comedy, or more aptly, tragi-comedy, a tale of two sisters with voracious appetites — one for food, the other for sex — and both with unresolved issues.
The script is never rolling-in-the-aisles funny, though there are many chuckles and some interesting commentaries on life and human foibles. The audience is expected, however, to swallow a great deal as Minerva, the food-crazed sister, balloons from obese to buoyant and literally “lifts off.” This script is not tethered in reality.
That said, Elisa Bocanegra as Minerva is outstanding and convincing. She struggles as much physically with her ever-expanding girth — difficulty walking, labored breathing — as she does psychologically, with its impact on her life. (Kudos to costume designer Christopher Acebo — Minerva’s added pounds look “natural”). Minerva’s monologue “letters” to Mee Chee, a “fat-farm” soul mate, are moving and tender, and Bocanegra infuses vulnerability. Yetta Gottesman as Alice is pert and saucy, and the “love” scenes with “Officer” Fernandez (James Martinez) are refreshingly uninhibited.
Act two introduces odd elements that for some strange reason, the other characters — Felix Solis as Minerva’s understanding husband Al among them — accept as normal, and the plot thickens, but never quite solidifies. The play’s end is ambiguous — leaving the audience wondering what really happened.
The “simple scene” changes are fast-paced (aptly by stagehands dressed as chefs), though perhaps too frequent and distracting, and a refrigerator and beds figure prominently. Perhaps more aptly titled “Bed and Breakfast,” “BL&D” is a lot to digest. As Alice tells Fernandez late in Act II, not only do “We never quite get what we want,” but we don’t even have a clue as to what that might be. It’s simply not on the menu.
Labels: breakfast lunch and dinner, greater hartford, hartford stage, theatre
