Close your eyes. Now picture an orange. A juicy, delicious orange. From Florida. Now open your eyes. If you’re lucky, an orange may have appeared in your hand. Feel free to eat it.
Set up in a cavernous warehouse next to Metropolitan Brewery, The Food Show featuring Oliver Camacho, Bilal Dardai, Tif Harrison, Spencer Meeks, and Kyra Sims is at turns hilarious and at turns genuinely profound. The performers all show off their comedic and musical prowess while delving into the effects of food on their lives, families, and identities. The show draws energy both from the talent of its writer-performers and from their consistent interactions with the audience members, who become a part of the show when offered food, or every once in a while are invited onstage for a glass of wine or a lunchbox. Throughout the show the performers take turns telling stories and sharing musings as they show off their cooking abilities. Some of the creations they actually offer to us and this writer can attest to their talent as chefs! It is as if we are in each actor’s kitchen, and if it weren’t for the musical performances interspersed among the conversation, we could forget that this is theater completely.
The Food Show is created by Dan Kerr-Hobert, with music by Ronnie Kuller. It is imaginative and quirky, yet still generally appealing for any audience member with an open mind. We are offered the chance to delve into the lives of the performers and understand their individual stories while appreciating the similar values that bring each one together. While it is above all a witty performance, The Food Show manages to foster a sense of community and open the minds of each attendee as we are invited to dinner.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Note: This is now added to the Picture this Post round up of BEST PLAYS IN CHICAGO, where it will remain until the end of the run. Click here to read — Top Picks for Theater in Chicago NOW – Chicago Plays PICTURE THIS POST Loves.
Note: an excerpt of this review appears in Theater in Chicago.
When
July 27th-September 2nd
Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 PM
Where:
Metropolitan Brewing’s New Avondale Location
3057 North Rockwell Street
Tickets:
$25
Pay-what-you-can on Thursdays
For more information visit The Neofuturists Website.
