THE 1041C Theater Reviews

A Dixon Place original, Megan Carney’s Let Them Eat Cake is a unique exposé of the varying and often conflicting political thought of LGBT community, with special regards to the issue of gay marriage.

Set under the premise of a wedding between two men, Juan and Steve, the attendees of the wedding each express their thoughts on matrimony as they wait for the grooms’ arrival.

The shattering of the fourth wall and the involvement of the audience is a prominent feature of the production- but perhaps that wall was never built. While audience members wait in the lobby to be seated, a tuxedo-clad actor approaches them, and after confirming that they are here for the wedding, directs them to a table with a nuptial guestbook. Once seated, actor Lea Robinson, who plays J.T (one-half of the play’s marriage-conflicted lesbian couple), floats around, asking theatergoers how they are acquainted with the grooms. This approach is successful in creating the atmosphere of an impending wedding, even before the play’s commencement.

Once the actors take the stage, they acknowledge to the audience and to each other that the wedding is taking place in the exact same venue in which play is occurring – the basement of the Dixon Place. The merging of the real and fictional settings provides for opportunities to take humorous jabs at the theater’s marginally run-down looking state.

Set designer Laura Mroczkowski employs a minimalist design – the only set elements being several movable pillars supporting an unadorned canopy, meant to serve as the alter. Several of the actors are seated in tables surrounding the canopy while others are seated in the audience, providing for an intimate, realistic setting.

The costume design is equally simplistic, with all actors in formal wedding attire. However, the plot-twist revealed at the end causes many to change into cardboard cut-outs of vegetables instead.

Throughout the play, different actors interact and discuss what marriage means to them, approaching the issue from different standpoints. Each member of the talented all-female cast is equally immersed in her character. From a Greek Orthodox aunt of Steve (Moe Angelos) to a quirky and impassioned lesbian friend of the couple (Carmelita Tropicana), each actor delivers a monologue that is just as opinionated as the next.

Particularly notable performances are provided by Robinson and Holly Hughes, who plays herself. The chemistry between this couple who are conflicted on whether or not they should tie the knot is both charming and authentic.

After the last of the guests has her say, the audience is informed that due to a minor accident, but one that requires medical attention all the same, the grooms will not be able to arrive in time for the wedding. Remedying the guests’ disappointment, lesbian character Logan (Micia Mosely) expresses interest in using the existing wedding preparations for her own marriage ceremony – to take place that very day. A member of the audience is selected to perform a stand-in role as her wife, while two other members serve as bridesmaids, donning vegetable costumes in accordance with the bride’s strange affinity for produce. Contradictory to the structural importance of the preceding elements of the play, this odd wardrobe decision added little more than humor and color to a monochromatic set.

After the much-anticipated wedding ceremony, the actors open up the floor to the audience, asking them to reveal their own stories about life and love. After a few members make use of the opportunity, the few characters with reservations about LGBT marriage reveal that they have become a little more accepting.

But for those who still do not approve, the play’s closing message, issued in unison by the entire cast, is loud and clear: Let them eat cake!