REVIEW by ANTHONY CHASE
Desiderio's Dinner Theatre continues its tradition of presenting lovers of Italian food with thought-provoking plays that weave together themes of time, fate, and the uncanny. Under the direction of Jay Desiderio, Sean Grennan's Now and Then is the latest addition to this repertoire, following in the footsteps of productions like J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls, Ray Cooney's It Runs in the Family, Rupert Holmes's A Time to Kill, and Neil Simon's God's Favorite. These are an eclectic array of plays, sometimes serious, sometimes silly, that invite us to revisit choices made and the unfair vicissitudes of life.
Set in Mulligan's Irish Bar outside of Chicago, Now and Then spans two timelines: 1981 and 2016. Without giving away too many of the play's surprises, I can share what Desiderio’s itself reveals in its publicity materials: one night in 1981, just as Jamie is closing up the bar where he works, a mysterious last-minute customer offers him and his girlfriend Abby two thousand dollars simply to sit and have a drink with him. As the evening unfolds, this stranger appears unusually invested in the young couple's choices about Jamie's musical career and his future with Abby.
Grennan explores the myriad decisions that shape the course of two lives through this seemingly simple premise. The theater's synopsis hints at additional twists -- including the arrival of a second stranger that makes the "unbelievable begin to look like it might be true." All I can say is that the play keeps viewers invested as this enigmatic encounter reveals unexpected connections between the characters.
The cast includes Steve Jakiel as the Man, Andrew Salamone as Jamie, Sarah Emmerling as Abby, and Lisa Hinca as the Woman. This is an able quartette who happily relate Grennan's brain twisting tale, delivering performances that bring depth to the story.
It's a heavy lift for Jakiel whose character's unassuming arrival at Mulligan's sets the action in motion. Here is a man with an agenda hidden within another hidden agenda. His motivations must be sorted out before the evening ends. Jakiel rises to the challenge with an engaging performance as the seemingly benign and uncomplicated visitor.
Lisa Hinca is the resident leading lady at Desiderio's. As the Woman, she arrives on the scene with a trove of essential information and withheld details. Hinca frequently plays someone's wife, the measure by which some man is judged and understood, the voice of reason, or the key to revealing the complexities of marriage and relationships. She again serves that anchoring function here, but with a performance that gives us glimpses of the person this woman was before she was yoked to a husband. It’s a role that lets Hinca put her aptitude for comic bitterness to good use.
It's fun to recall that Hinca and Jay Desiderio have a long history together. They attended SUNY Fredonia at the same time, proving that the current generation of tight-knit Fredonia theater folk who just completed the run of Black Bear Island down at Alleyway is not the first to emerge from that esteemed program.
Salamone creates a sweetly naïve young man whose hopes outrace practicality. Eager to please and endlessly optimistic, Jamie seems to be either a total contrast or a perfect complement to young Abby, played by Emmerling with feisty self-assurance. She may well be the love of Jamie's life, but the exact requirements for that job seem to be stubbornly elusive in this play. At critical moments, Salamone and Emmerling each score marvelous moments in the ways their performances mirror or contrast Jakiel and Hinca, an observation that can only be understood after seeing the play. Let's just say that whereas Jamie dreams, Abby evaluates, and Emmerling's grounded performance provides the perfect counterweight to Salamone's exuberant idealism.
The play is a kind of existential puzzle. Mulligan's bar becomes a living escape box game in which each character holds a vital piece of information that is held secret from the others. The alacrity with which the men make decisions without consulting the women, and the frequency with which the women tell the men in this play not to speak, to shut up, not to express their feelings is a telling clue as to what has gone wrong, or will go wrong, or what might be corrected in these lives.
High tech and elaborate design are not a priority at Desiderio's where these elements typically tilt toward the essential and functional. On this occasion, the technical aspects of the production are capably handled, with lighting design by Brian Cavanagh and sound recording by Joseph Ozoria using simple gestures to create an atmosphere that supports the play's emotional highs and lows and Twilight Zone moments.
Desiderio's penchant for stories that intrigue audiences with life's mysteries and conundrums, the choices made, and the decisions regretted is evident in Now and Then. The play invites viewers to reflect on the paths taken and those ignored, weaving a narrative that is both entertaining and thought-provoking. As the characters navigate their pasts and futures, the audience is left pondering the what-ifs of life, making for a memorable evening.
Now and Then at Desiderio's Dinner Theatre is a fun exploration of time, fate, and human connection, presented with a talented cast and steady direction. Audiences seeking both a satisfying meal and food for thought will find both at Desiderio's production of Now and Then, playing through April 13, 2025.