From the creator of Sordid Lives, this Southern comedy translates and transfers a specific type of humor across state lines. The first thing I noticed before the show began was the magnificent stage set, designed by Kevin Brown. The lattice work on the Louisiana-based blue house, the reconstruction of the porch, all realistically assembled, bringing the audience in closer to examine not just the house, but as they appeared, each of the four characters who appear in this farcical, visceral and colorful story.
Joah, Chris Skinner, leaves his marriage and home to Rick, Emerson Collins, who remains behind with his MIL Lou Wanda, played by Cynthia Sanders, who has nowhere else to go. She joined the couple while they were married because of her gambling and whisky-and-peach-ice addiction. Rick feels devastated about his husband’s infidelity, primarily because Joah is involved with one of Rick’s students.
Rick is at first downright skeptical about allowing Lou Wanda to room at the house with him – memories, awkwardness, and a reminder of his ex, but gradually warms up to her as she cooks comfort food from old recipes of Rick’s mother’s. His best friend, Oona, played by Chelsea Manasseri, is a person who takes sides, almost 100% of the time agreeing with her bestie, overly emotional drama and subjectivity rolled into a pity party to prolong the pain or joy of the perceived unfolding situation.
Lou Wanda, who is in her seventies, gives a performance worthy of a Tony. Spunky, funky, and funny, she had the best lines, both sarcastic and knee-slapping. She admitted to Rick, who quickly became a non-adversarial buddy of hers about not having any cash for gambling,, “It’s like a turd in a bowl of a church social, that’s life!” That Southern reference, alien to a New Yorker like me, or anyone not from the South, crossed the line from huh to hahaha. Another gut-buster had me in tears: “When your son calls himself gay on Easter Sunday and calls it Resurrection Day.” Other Southern usages of English jumped out at me, like when Lou Wanda said “that makes me nauseated” instead of nauseous.
The story is relatable to anyone who has been through a divorce or experienced a cheating spouse. The indignity of suffering, the mess of muddlement, and the unspoken history of the characters reveal the flaws of being human.
Del Shores wrote and directed the Recipe Box for the Austin Rainbow Theatre. I went to the regional premiere at Ground Floor Theatre, which opened on September 4 and runs through the 19th.
Photo Credit: Keller Davis
Thursdays–Saturdays at 8 PM | Sundays at 2 PM
Venue: Ground Floor Theatre 979 Springdale Rd #122 Austin, TX 78702
Tickets: www.austinrainbowtheatre.org/shows/the-recipe-box/