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Theater review: 'The Cook'
It's a recipe for high drama: One Cuban revolution, one aristocratic senora, one young Cuban cook who vows to care for her employer's house on the eve of Fidel's march into Havana. One passionate, politically minded husband who imagines a greater life for his countrymen. Stir gently. No, put on the lid and shake.
All of the ingredients are there. But this staging of Eduardo Machado's drama, "The Cook," at the Goodman Theatre, directed by Henry Godinez, falls flat on timing and pacing.
Sure, the ingredients are good: The story tackles issues of class struggle, national identity, political turbulence and gender and sexual equality. There are touching, personal moments too, most notably when Gladys (Karen Aldridge) faces the cold reality of what it means for her cousin Julio (Phillip James Brannon) to be gay in Fidel's Cuba. Carlos (Edward F. Torres), the would-be patriarch of Gladys' home, is the most transformed of the central characters, moving from playfully subversive servant to arrogant, nasty government appointee to a somewhat comical old man who cries--not from the weight of history--but from dicing too many onions for his wife.
The set is colorful and bold (and arguably difficult to navigate): a long kitchen table takes center stage for the duration of the play. The set dressing and actors age well throughout the story with professional touches (copper pots dull as we move through the decades), but the drama hiccups and spurts, and pacing and staging are awkward. Ultimately, these timing troubles dampen the storytelling (odd because the notion of time is central to the plot). Our verdict: This "Cook" needs a bit more seasoning.
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