"Bed No Breakfast"

Theatre review
"Bed No Breakfast" at the Kitchen Theatre
Ithaca Times
January 23, 2008
786 words
"Light done right"

full text here

Light done right
By: Mark Tedeschi
01/23/2008

Brett Bossard, Jessica Flood, Tony Simione, Dan Kiely, Erica Steinhagen, Norma Fire and Jessica Carr in ‘Bed No Breakfast.’ (Photo provided)
"Bed No Breakfast," written and directed by Rachel Lampert. Music by Larry Pressgrove, lyrics by Rachel Lampert. Set by Steve TenEyck, costumes by Hannah Kochman, lighting by Brian Prather. Starring Norma Fire, Brett Bossard, Jessica Flood, Tony Simione, Dan Kiely, Erica Steinhagen, and Jessica Carr. Stage Manager, Stephen A. Wagner, Associate Director, Jesse Bush.

You have to go too far to find out how far you can go," deadpans Mrs. L. (Fire), the slouching, sagacious, old-lady proprietor of a B&B in Michigan's snow-encapsulated Upper Peninsula. She offers these "little sayings" intermittently in conversations with her guests, and the initial responses are almost always an awkward but thoughtful silence. Some of her maxims are borrowed, we find out, and others are her own; some are playful, others cynical, but all coax a "Hey, that's sort of true!" realization.

Her snippets of wisdom reveal a fondness for dry wordplay as well as a veiled desire to help people - to encourage them to unwind, to make them laugh, to stir their thoughts. Bed No Breakfast, the Kitchen Theatre's first production of 2008, does all of that to its audience. Also a world premiere musical by writer/director/lyricist Rachel Lampert, Bed No Breakfast refreshes as it calms.

As usual, there's a blizzard in the U.P., and six random folks have no choice but to seek shelter at Mrs. L's establishment. She voices disdain at the unexpected company, but denies entry to none. TenEyck's cozy set is mostly her living room, a nice little place with a sofa, a card table, a cluttered bookshelf, a wood stove, and ample room for candles, since the place is completely "off the grid." The candlelight/natural light cycle of several nights allows for some fluid blue-to-yellow changes in the overall homey feel of Prather's lighting design.

The first guests are Will (Bossard) and Marla (Flood), a yuppie, married couple considering divorce who tell the others they're an unmarried couple considering marriage. Their room is to one side of the set, so we can see how the awkwardness between them inflates once they're alone.

Next, there are the lone travelers: Henry (Tony Simione), an enthusiastic accountant who is less shy than but as nerdy as he claims, and Greta (Carr), a squirrelly college girl who takes it upon herself to emcee any ice breakers or parlor games she can think of.

That leaves just Jake (Kiely), a dreadlocked globetrotter, and his pregnant sister Chance (Steinhagen), a single woman raised on a farm, who arrive together but let everyone believe they're a married couple in order to avoid confusion. Naturally, that (perhaps gratuitous) decision only creates more confusion, but not too much - the story of Bed No Breakfast transcends the farcical in favor of a quieter story about six people who, without Mrs. L.'s unique brand of hospitality, might not otherwise look twice at one another, let alone develop a solid friendship.

The peculiar music in Bed No Breakfast, written by Pressgrove and directed by Montgomery, functions differently through the show. Sometimes the lyrics pronounce one or more characters' analysis of another, like in "How Bad Can It Be?", a song that gets too on-the-nose with lines like "There's something about him / He's so at ease." Other songs, such as "In The Middle of the Night," combine that internal monologue with actual conversation. "Charades," a protracted number in which the group begrudgingly commences a game of gesticulation to break up the tension and monotony, requires commitment to precise timing; because of the actors' exciting delivery, at the climax you'll become as invested in the game as the characters are.

Most of the tranquil slower songs captivate just as well as the more upbeat numbers. "Time," in particular, includes crisp harmonies and a home-hitting message of enjoying when time is ample, a real feat for the characters who can think about little else than when the state road will be reopened so they can leave. "All About the Ride" is less gripping - the imagery is nice, but its lyrics lack the variety present in, say, "A Second Honeymoon."

Fire has probably the least powerful voice (and Flood the most), but that's a flaw easy to look past; her character's subtle style has its own power that comes from understatement married with a tinge of mystery. When she speaks, attention locks on: "Dinner will be done by 8... and begun by 6." That means dinner is at 6pm exactly, but she's joking about being so insistent. Or is she?

Some characters float in and out of likeability (don't worry, they realize their flaws like any good comedic personas), but all come from dissimilar backgrounds; each of their contributions to the collective group offers a distinct and interesting flair. The all-around success of this show lies in its relaxed suggestion: Step back and appreciate what surrounds you, no matter where you are, who you're with, or what you plan to do next. I'm a sucker for light done right, and the Kitchen should be proud of Bed No Breakfast.