Review: Mad Cow's THE BIG MEAL Will Leave You Hungry For More

Not sure what you're in the mood for for dinner tonight? How about five generations of an American family with a side of laughs, tears, and introspective reflection? If that sounds like something you could munch on, then the Mad Cow Theatre's THE BIG MEAL is for you. This outstanding play by Dan LeFranc is directed by Mark Edward Smith and serves up the story of two characters - Sam and Nicole - and their journey through the feast that is life.

Played by Sarah French and Jeffrey Todd Parrott in the beginning, Sam and Nicole are a young couple who truly devour life together. We see their awkward first date that turns into true love, the fights and small things that eventually dim that love, and the way their life changes as they grow older and children come along. Throughout the story, we see how Sam and Nicole grow and, like life, the people and circumstances around them change as well. They begin to settle into a routine with their kids and family and we see the "typical" falling out and coming back of a family along the way. The kids grow up and become teenagers and Sam and Nicole become what we all say we won't - their parents. The kids eventually grow up and as we see their adult lives begin to form we also see their flaws and how the family both deals with and embraces those. The play comes full circle when Sam and Nicole grow old and Sam begins to lose his faculties. Nicole cares for him, but more than that, she is reflective on their life together and the bond of family.

As the show progresses, the actors playing the characters change to reflect the ages of each character, but I was truly in awe of not only how much they looked like their younger counterparts, but how much they acted like them as well. In a post-show discussion led by the Mad Cow Theatre, "Woman 2" or "older Nicole" said they studied each other's mannerisms and duplicated them to truly capture the essence of each character. This was not lost on me as an audience member, and I truly appreciated the cast's dedication and care to detail that helped make the production so seamless and easy to understand. Steven Lane and Ginger Lee play the older versions of Sam and Nicole and Peter W. Galman and Shami J. McCormick play them in their elderly years. It's important to note however that the entire cast also plays multiple characters as well - for example Sarah French plays the teenage version of Sam and Nicole's parents and Peter W. Galman takes on Sam's father. While it sounds convoluted and strange, the actors do an amazing job of drawing you in and helping you to understand who is who at that particular moment of time.

The real-life meanings in this play are truly what make this show so outstanding. As in life, characters pass on along the way and the audience knows death is coming when it is "served" to them by an ominous waitress in all black. As the character is eating their last meal, the family looks on in anguish and pain, but when it's over they move on as best they can with their lives. The waitress resets the scene when the dead character has exited - and it's just like real life, death happens and then resets your reality and you move on and grow. The cast does an amazing job of making the audience connect and realize what exactly it means to have family when tragedy strikes and, as elderly Nicole states, "take the time" to stop your life and just be together. Life passes by so quickly, and as the lights came up at the end of the show and the audience was brought back into the real world, it was easy to see that each and every person had something new to chew on for dessert that night on their way home. What do we choose over family and how has our family shaped us? This were the questions I was left asking myself after the show.

While you may not be able to look at a plate of vegetables or your dinner in general the same way again, THE BIG MEAL is not one to be missed. The show runs now through August 28. For tickets and more information, click here.

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So,what was your favorite course in THE BIG MEAL? Don't forget to follow BWW Orlando on Facebook and Twitter by clicking below! You can also connect with me about this show and all things theatre by following me on Twitter @libbychamps.

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