Last week I was invited to attend My Kitchen Wars, performed by Dorothy Lyman and currently playing at the 78th Street Theater Lab. My Kitchen Wars is the memoir of Betty Fussell, food historian and author of several books, including the acclaimed The Story of Corn.
The 78th Street Theater Lab provides an intimate setting that suits the work well. The stage is transformed into a homey kitchen, where Fussell tells us her story while she "prepares" lobster bisque, a lobster-avocado salad and a Grand Marnier soufflé. Lyman is joined on-stage by jazz vocalist, Melissa Sweeney who provides fitting musical interludes and transitions.
It would have been a magical experience, except for the fact that I found it impossible to identify with or even like Fussell. Based on the stage adaptation (I've yet to read the book), Fussell is a woman who has been driven to achieve great culinary feats in the kitchen, researched and written extensively on food, yet appears to lack passion for any of it. She would probably describe her journey has a joyless battle. As someone who does feel passionately about all things food-related, Fussell is a complete mystery to me.
The only time we get a hint that Fussell might be more than a kitchen warrior is when she decribes falling in love with butter:
But what I remember is toddling over to the icebox, where the door had been left ajar, and finding within its coolness a big thick cube as golden as an orange and as smooth and velvety as ice cream. I took it out and licked it. It got slippery in my hands, creamed my mouth, melted on my tongue, and ran down my throat. By the time they found me, I had consumed the whole pound of it. It was clear I was destined for a lifelong romance with butter that would rival my father's love affair with oranges.
In the end, Fussell seems to find some resolution to the internal conflicts that have driven her and I left the play liking her just a little bit, which is better than not at all.
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My Kitchen Wars is now playing, Wed. thru Sat at 8:00, Sun at 7:30, Matinees on Wed & Sat at 2:30 and Sun at 3:00.
78th Street Theater Lab
236 West 78th St. at Broadway
New York, NY 10024
Phone: 212.873.9050
Fax: 212.873.1156
Tickets:
Call Smart Tix at 212-868-4444 or online at www.smarttix.com
Regular Price (All Seats) - $35
Group Price (8 or more) - $25
Related: Interview and discussion of the book, My Kitchen Wars