Seared

B+

After a run last year in Williamstown, Theresa Rebeck’s (Seminar, Downstairs) entertaining comedy set in the kitchen of a tiny Park Slope restaurant has made it to New York in a first-rate production at MCC’s Frankel Theater. If you are a foodie, you will enjoy seeing Harry (Raul Esparza; Company, The Normal Heart), the brilliant but difficult chef, at work. Harry fancies himself a food artist unconcerned with critical acclaim or commercial success. To the great frustration of his partner Mike (David Mason; Trick or Treat) who funded the restaurant and runs the front of the house, Harry refuses to capitalize on a mention in New York magazine praising his scallop dish. Since the quality scallops he insists on are hard to come by in quantity, Harry refuses to make the dish a regular offering. When an attractive, rather mysterious consultant, Emily (Krysta Rodriguez; First Date, The Addams Family), visits the restaurant one night, she bends Mike’s ear with ideas for improving the restaurant. Mike is sold, but Harry is not. Much of the action consists of shouting matches over implementing Emily’s ideas. The relationship that develops between Harry and Emily is not completely hostile. Meanwhile, the restaurant’s sole waiter, Rodney (W. Tré Davis; Zooman and the Sign), quietly observes everything. When Emily persuades Harry to come up with a new signature dish, he develops one based on wild salmon, which is even harder to obtain than quality scallops. The first six minutes of the second act, with a jazz background but no dialogue, present Harry working on his new seared salmon dish. Depending on your interest in cooking, you will either be fascinated or bored. In any case, it is a virtuoso scene for Esparza. The simmering conflicts come to a boil when a major food critic arrives for a visit. The outcome was a surprise, at least for me. Rebeck writes actor-friendly roles. Everyone gets a chance to shine, Mason somewhat less than the others because his role is less fully developed. Esparza makes the most of a role that fits him well. Rodriguez is so much fun to watch that I was willing to overlook the fact that Emily’s motivation is never satisfactorily explained. Tim Mackabee’s (The Last Match, Vietgone) kitchen is wonderfully detailed. Tilly Grimes’s (Underground Railroad Game) costumes are apt. Moritz von Stuelpnagel (Bernhardt/Hamlet, Hand to God), directs with precision. If you don’t mind a lot of shouting and aren’t too concerned about credibility, you are likely to have an enjoyable experience. I did. Running time: two hours ten minutes including intermission.