published on in blog

The Food Chain

Marking his third major Off Broadway production in two years, playwright Nicky Silver whips up a perfect souffle with "The Food Chain." This latest comedy delivers on the considerable promise of his earlier "Pterodactyls" and "Raised in Captivity," with Silver displaying a master chef's expertise in blending any number of ingredients into a frothy, satisfying whole.

Marking his third major Off Broadway production in two years, playwright Nicky Silver whips up a perfect souffle with “The Food Chain.” This latest comedy delivers on the considerable promise of his earlier “Pterodactyls” and “Raised in Captivity,” with Silver displaying a master chef’s expertise in blending any number of ingredients into a frothy, satisfying whole.

Where his earlier efforts occasionally betrayed his ambitions — his kitschy, offbeat style didn’t always mesh with his weighty messages — Silver here pulls off a seamless meld of style and insight. And “The Food Chain” just might be the funnjest play currently trouncing a New York stage.

Related Stories

The Hollywood sign with a hand coming out of the "O" holding a megaphone VIP+

Hollywood’s Next Superhero: Purpose-Led Branding  

Kate Winslet

Kate Winslet on Producing Lee Miller Biopic 'Lee' Against the Odds: 'She Wouldn’t Take No for an Answer, Which Is a Lot Like Me'

Clearly inspired by the play-wright’s energy, director Robert Falls guides a first-rate ensemble through the three breakneck scenes that make up this intermission-less play. Audience first meets the fantastically ditsy Amanda (Silver veteran Hope Davis), a young wife at wit’s end since her husband of three weeks has been missing for two.

Popular on Variety

The first scene consists of Amanda’s lengthy, rambling and hilarious telephone conversation with suicide hotline volunteer Bea (expertly played by Phyllis Newman). The dialogue is a wonderful display of at-odds characterizations — Bea is a no-nonsense (and more than a little self-centered) Jewish mother par excellence, and Amanda is a trendy, pretentious poet with massive personal insecurities — to say nothing of an expertly crafted set up for all the action to follow.

The second scene shifts to yet another Manhattan apartment, this one belonging to Serge (Patrick Fabian), an underwear-clad model awaiting a late-night rendezvous with his lover of two weeks (hint, hint). But his nervous wait is interrupted by the unexpected and unwanted arrival of Otto (Tom McGowan) , a long-ago fling who ballooned to obesity in the wake of their break-up. In a dazzling hurricane performance, McGowan’s Otto begs, wheedles and argues to win back the affections of the beautiful Serge, all the while chugging Yoo-Hoo chocolate drinks and scarfing bag after bag of junk food.

Long before Otto’s secondOreo, Silver has established his theme: the power of physical beauty on selfworth and love, a power no less rich in comic possibility for all of its cruelty. This caste system of attraction is the true food chain, Silver asserts, and indeed none of his characters is immune. Even the chicly thin Amanda, haunted by a fat childhood that has left her with the sensitivity and self-doubt of a poet, can’t resist describing nearly everyone she sees in terms of their looks. Indeed, her new marriage to the stunningly sexy Ford (Rudolf Martin) can be based on nothing but appearance, since the emotionally vacant groom barely utters three lines during the entire course of the play.

Audiences might well guess at least some of what’s coming in the third scene, when all of the characters are tossed into Amanda’s apartment and hidden relationships are revealed. No matter. The fun is seeing how Silver pulls off the revelations. By this time the play has reached the frenetic pace of a farce , with playwright, director and cast moving in wonderful sync as the outsized characterizations and coincidence-laden plot spin to a deceptively happy end. The cast is without disappointment, with McGowan chewing everything but the scenery and Davis turning in a delightfully fierce and flightly performance. Newman’s return to the New York stage is remindful of her terrific comic skills, and even newcomer Fabian, as the vain model, holds his own in this company. Martin, as the bisexual husband, isn’t given the opportunity to display much more than brooding good looks, but he does that just fine.

Tech credits are fine, with a special nod going to set designer Thomas Lynch’s success in displaying character personality through the apartment sets. Note how even a quick glimpse into the model’s wardrobe closet is both humorous and telling — much like everything else in “The Food Chain”.

Jump to Comments

The Food Chain

  • Production: NEW YORK A presentation by Robert V. Straus, Randall L. Wreghitt, Annette Niemtzow, Michael Jackowitz, in association with Evangeline Morphos and Nancy Richards, of a play in one act by Nicky Silver. Directed by Robert Falls,
  • Crew: Sets, Thomas Lynch; custumes, William ivey Long; lighting, Kenneth Posner; sound, Duncan Edwards, Ben Rubin; casting. Bernard Telsey Casting; production stage manager, Allison Sommers; general management, Robert V. Straus Prods.; press, Richard Kornberg & Associates; executive producer, Michael Rafael; associate producers, Kathleen O'Grady, Gilford/Freeley Prods., Andrew Rarrett, Terrie Adams, Fanny M. Mandelberger, Richard Kornberg, Pope Entertainment Group. Opened Aug. 24, 1995, at the Westside Theater. Reviewed Ang. 22; 299 seats; $ 40. Running time: 1 HOUR, 35 MIN.
  • With: Cast: Hope Davis (Amanda), Phyllis Newman (Bea), Rudolf Martin (Ford), Patrick Fabian (Serge), Tom McCowan (Otto).

More from Variety

Most Popular

Must Read

Sign Up for Variety Newsletters

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Variety Confidential

A Variety and iHeartRadio Podcast

ncG1vNJzZmiukae2psDYZ5qopV9mhnqBjp%2BgpaVfp7K3tcSwqmismJp6p7vOnWScoJGeu259kWlnbWxiaH13ew%3D%3D