REVIEW: The Catering Queen provides a reprieve from what ails us
The Players’ Guild of Hamilton delivers with a play that provides laughs, a villain to hate and a dive into the stories beyond the aprons serving at a fancy law firm Christmas party.
If January has felt like an interminable month of Mondays, and psychic weariness has set in over the state of the globe, The Players’ Guild of Hamilton has an entertaining diversion for you. The theatre company’s newest offering, The Catering Queen, is a light, chummy ensemble piece that holds some charm. It doesn’t solve the world’s problems, but it never makes that claim. It does remind us that we all have stories and aspirations beyond the apron might we wear or the job we find ourselves doing.
A friend and I took in a Sunday matinee performance, which I was happy to note had a full house. I met my friend years ago working in Jackson Square at Laura Secord. She’s had a long career in the food and restaurant industry, so it seemed fitting to take in The Catering Queen together.
The setting of The Catering Queen, written by Toronto playwright Alison Lawrence, is the annual Christmas cocktail party for Henderson Tessier McGuire & Smythe, hosted by managing partner George Smythe and his wife Buffy in their beautifully appointed home. However, the real story is going on behind the swinging kitchen door. Melanie, played by Kristina Kuhnert in her Guild debut, is McKinley Catering’s capable supervisor, plating up tray after tray of appetizers while trying to wrangle her crew of co-workers including Timothy, Cynthia, and Eric. Everyone is neatly turned out in white collared shirts, black pants, and a company apron, but the commentary behind the scenes is, as the young people say, messy. This is even before Mel discovers her ex-boyfriend is attending the party with his new girlfriend.
One of the strengths of this production is its set design. Featuring a full kitchen cut on a diagonal with entrances on each side, most of the action is gathered behind a central island where boxes emblazoned with the McKinley Catering logo are unpacked and their delicacies arranged on unending serving trays. The lighting is bright, the cabinets and tile backsplash are luxe, and the space is nicely used as both a hub of activity and a refuge from the partygoers. The cast congregates realistically throughout the space and moves in and out of the swinging door without any mishaps.
A notable element of the sound design is a low-volume buzz of chatter audible from the unseen party in the other room. There were a few moments when this proved a little distracting for my ears, but mostly I thought it was a clever nod to remind us there was another event unfolding as we focused on the conversations of the hired help in the kitchen.
Among them, returning Guild actor Key Straughan is a standout throughout as the deliciously sassy waiter Timothy, who has charm and snark to spare. He banters with the best of them and has no filter to speak of. He has impeccable comedic timing. Straughan’s performance effortlessly elicited the biggest chuckles from the matinee audience.
Meagan Byrne, who Guild audiences saw as Johnny in last season’s hard-hitting and visceral God and the Indian, shows her range and terrific comedic chops in this play, which could not be more different. Those of us who have had service, hospitality, or retail jobs will recognize Cynthia as a familiar co-worker: the sharp-tongued, brash, sarcastic and funny colleague who pulls no punches. Cynthia is an aspiring actress who grudgingly works in catering while awaiting her big break.
Allison Dickey as Julia, the snooty new girlfriend of Melanie’s ex, also deserves a special mention. She hits all the expected notes in Act One, but it is in Act Two when she really hits her stride, showing great timing and physical comedy to hilarious effect. At one point, the audience was roaring with laughter.
Coryn Urquhart, who Players’ Guild patrons will remember from his performance earlier this season as Brendan Byrne in A Question of Justice, is a quiet but surprising presence in this story. It may be easy to overlook his character Eric in the loud banter of Act One but we learn, as does Mel, that still waters run deep. There’s more to Eric than his quiet demeanour might suggest, and Urquhart imbues him with a sweetness, maturity, and humour that comes into focus right when it’s needed most.
To get a sense of the real Mel, the Catering Queen of the title, is a bit of a slow burn. Kuhnert plays her with an authentically likable every-gal vibe, but it’s only gradually that the script allows us to know a little more about her. She’s an aspiring writer, but she hasn’t actually been writing in quite a while. She’s gradually lost touch with herself and become stagnant, having spent several years pouring her energies into a live-in boyfriend who left her and she is now treading water, working one catering gig after another. She’s not quite sure who she is and what she wants, and she hasn’t been ready to truly let go of the past.
Anthony Abreu has a tough assignment in the character of Nick, the long-time boyfriend who broke Melanie’s heart. He is the villain of the piece, the cheating ex who took all the love and care Mel had to give and left her for better opportunities. He’s a social climber and a hustler; he’s ambitious and selfish. In fact, he’s unctuous, continually gaslights Mel, and completely lacks any real shame or self-awareness. What does she see in him? Why is she having such trouble getting over such an unlikable man? My friend and I looked at each other in dismay and during one of his entrances in Act Two, the audience audibly groaned.
But maybe that’s the point. Everyone can see how horrid Nick is, but it’s hard for Mel to come to grips with what he really is and how much time and love and care she’s expended. Even Julia, Nick’s new girlfriend, takes some time to see that her desire for a relationship to tick the boxes and go along with her other achievements has her seeing Nick not for who he really is, but what she wants him to be. I would hazard to say that we’ve all been in either Melanie or Julia’s place. Perhaps both.
In The Catering Queen, the stakes aren’t very high and the epiphany, when it comes, is fairly mild. I imagine watching this play is similar to what one might experience being a member of a sitcom’s studio audience. If you’re at your limit these days and need a reprieve, this production provides a decent bit of entertainment and escapism.
NEED TO KNOW
The Catering Queen
The Players’ Guild
80 Queen St. S., Hamilton
Continues Jan. 24, 30 & 31 at 8 p.m. with matinees Jan. 25, 26, and Feb. 1 at 2 p.m.
Box office: (905) 529-0284 or playersguild.org
