Review: THE TASTE TEST Now at the Just Off Broadway Theatre

The Taste Test by Kansas City playwright Frank Higgins is currently playing at the Just Off Broadway Theatre in Kansas City. The Taste Test is a Phoenix KC Theatre production in partnership with KC MeltingPot Theatre. Warren Deckert is director and designer for the play, which closes June 27.

This is a tale of friendship, loyalty, betrayal, relationships, and trust that begins with the Cola wars of the 1980's. Clair is the CEO of King Cola who is trying to overcome a poor decision to introduce new King Cola to battle Pepsi for supremacy. Mary is second in line at King Cola and hires her college friend Jewel to develop an advertising campaign to launch King Cola to the top of the ratings. Unfortunately, for the audience the play is as flat as the cola they are trying to save.

It was impossible to find a character that was likeable. Clair an aging CEO has lost track of reality at times and is emotionally distraught. It would be hard to believe that any large corporation would continue to employee a CEO that goes on rants about nothing regarding the company. As Mary tries to describe a solution to her, she stops the meeting to read a commencement speech she is going to give at a college.

Mary seems to have no backbone but at first appears to be genuinely interested in saving the company or at least the CEO spot for herself when Clair fails. It is hard to care for a character that not only is so eager to use her college friend, but also tries to manipulate her actions and responses.

Jewel is an angry young black woman with a large chip on her shoulder and the character has more attitude than charisma. She is a nobody in the ad agency that works for King Cola, but acts as if she is irreplaceable. It is unlikely that any CEO would continue to employee someone who talks to them as Jewel does to Clair.

Everything about the play from staging (half the time it is difficult to understand the cast since their backs are to half the audience almost continually), to sound (it is the modern age how about microphones), to the set. If the center row of chairs had been used for the audience at least part of the audience would have gotten to hear all the dialogue.

Marilyn Lynch overacts in the role of Clair. She spends half her time shouting and over emphasizing gestures. Laura Jacobs is adequate as Mary, though there is no real power in her characterization. Chioma Anyanwu stars as Jewel and at times, she does a good job, while at other times the dialogue and actions seem forced.

Unfortunately, this entire production fails The Taste Test. The Taste Test continues at Just Off Broadway Theatre through June 27. Photo courtesy of KC MeltingPot Theatre.

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