Chewing the scenery

KITCHEN SYNCH DRAMA At a recent show, actors serve the audience.

Photograph: Sue Kessler

No one in their right mind ventures to Bushwick to spend 40 bucks on dinner theater. But fans of Conni’s Avant-Garde Restaurant aren’t your average spectators (or gourmands). You have to be a little kooky (not to mention hungry) to enjoy Conni’s crew and the comfort food they serve up roughly four times a year.

Ticketholders arrive—usually at the Off-Off theater the Bushwick Starr—for “The Early Bird Catches the Cocktail,” which begins with attendees putting on prewritten name tags. Last November, just days before the election, I was “Amnesiac for Dukakis.” Following appetizers and wine in the theater lobby, the Conni cast converges to welcome its “guests.” In the conceit of this performance piece, you aren’t just an audience member: Essentially, you have been invited to a private party. Accordingly, it is your privilege to be there. This becomes clear when the actors gather round to sing a song setting forth the restaurant rules—the most important ones being “This is not dinner theater!” and “We are not waiters!”

The performers who make up the Restaurant met in Maine three years ago during a production of As You Like It. As the gig drew to a close, they reflected on their cast gatherings. “They were henomenal,” actor Rachel Murdy recalls. Connie Hall, the group’s producing director, chimes in: “We’d have a look at what was in the fridge and suddenly, it would be a party.” The group began wondering what would happen if a band of downtown actors took over a restaurant. Thus was born a performance piece with a populist hook, and what better way to wash down avant-garde theatrics than with alcohol and tasty food?The diners at Conni’s, having been told just how this dinner’s gonna go, are then directed into the theater itself, where everyone sits down family style. Has your gag reflex kicked in over audience participation? Actually, the small talk that ensues is palatable and creates an instant sense of community—especially when paired with the weird scenes and tunes that accompany the meal.

“Come and Serve You Tonight,” a song that sounds amazingly similar to Aerosmith’s “Angel,” spurs a serving of soup. Salad begins with a tap dance and blossoms into a ballet before it lands on your plate. That’s followed by “Bus That Table” a game where guests must clear their cutlery and dishers quickly to make room for the main course.

An eclectic bunch of characters performs the show’s collection of charming, nonlinear vignettes. There’s the brother-and-sister team of Peter’s Character and Muffin (Peter Lettre and Rachel Murdy), both underappreciated theatrical geniuses; the ingenue, Miss Goodi TwoShoes (Kelly Hayes); Mrs. Robinson (Jeffrey Frac), a displaced glam rocker; and a wandering barkeep named Hunter (Tommy Gissendanner). The kitchen staff is composed of Lunch Lady, Johnny Hammersticks and Sue James (Jerusha Klemperer, Jesse Gustafson and Hall).

Miss Conni Convergence, legendary culinary mastermind and the restaurant’s namesake, has yet to make an appearance, though each course features cabaret-style musical numbers or scenes lifted from her underexposed, misunderstood canon. Behind-the-scenes odysseys—such as the one in which leading lady Muffin becomes pregnant, experiences childbirth, gives the baby away and then questions all her choices—are the show’s most succulent courses and leave every one ready for a Gintermission. “We’re making fun of avant-garde theater but also creating it,” actor Justin Badger says. “We satirize in a loving way,” Murdy concurs.

The rest of the evening unfolds with more songs, wild dance numbers and yet more vittles. “Nothing Is Certain but Death and Dessert” is the sweet finish, accompanied by warm chocolate-chip bread pudding. It just goes to show: You don’t need to suffer through bad acting and questionable cuisine—in some godforsaken part of Florida, no doubt—to enjoy honest-to-goodness dinner theater.

Look Before You Leap Dinner is at the Bushwick Starr Sat 28 and Sun 1. Go to avantgarderestaurant.com for details.

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