Review: TABLE 17 at Union Arts Center

Dear Readers, I will state unabashedly, I love a good RomCom.  The twists and turns and hope surrounding a couple trying to find that ever elusive love.  Will they get out of their own way long enough to realize what they want is right in front of them?  If you like them too then Douglas Lyons’ “Table 17”, currently playing at Union Arts Center, is just what you want.  It’s got the Rom and it certainly has the Com.

We meet Jada (Bria Samoné Henderson) as she’s getting ready for a date.  She fusses with her hair, her outfit, and whether or not she should really go.  You see, this date is with her ex-fiancé Dallas (Brandon JonesMooney) who has called up out of the blue after some time.  And that’s our jumping off point at Table 17 as we go from drinks to appetizers to flashbacks to … who knows?  And all under the watchful eye of their waiter River (Lamar Legend), a gay man who just wants a man of his own and is not shy in telling us about it.

It’s a pretty standard fare as far as RomComs go.  Awkward meeting, adorable first date, vicious break up, and the unknown of a reunion.  But in these tropes the message and delivery is all.  And Lyons’ dialog brings freshness and fun that keeps this 90-minute show zipping by.  Plus, right from the top we are given permission, by the outrageous River, to become a minor part of the conversation.  The fourth wall is repeatedly broken allowing for the audience to invest further with cheers, and groans, and the occasional verbal interjection.  We are warned not to go too far.  We are not characters in the story.  But this invitation into the world beyond the audience’s usual “fly on the wall” voyeurism, manages to elevate what could be run of the mill, to something you’ll take with you on the way home.

Director Shermona Mitchell does a wonderful job keeping the pace clipping along and obviously has coached her performers on how to handle it when the audience might get a little too vociferous.  And they did on the night I was there.  We were in danger of venturing into Rocky Horror territory, but the actors politely and swiftly deescalated each situation. 

And Mitchell’s three performers are each fantastic in their own way.  Henderson is one of the brightest, bubbliest performers with a presence that makes you want to hang on her every word.  And even when she may be in the wrong, we still root for her.  JonesMooney brings in much of the same with a likability and depth to his character that could have been treated as a one note cliché.  He makes for a perfect counterpoint for Henderson and the two have incredible chemistry together.  And then there’s Legend.  I’ve been a fan of his for a while now having seen him in many varied roles.  And he plays many varied roles in this one play alone. But I don’t think I’ve seen him get to cut loose with the comedy as much and he’s great at it.  He tears up the stage with each character, especially the no-filter River, to hilarious effect. 

This certainly wasn’t the most life changing play, but I do enjoy Lyons’ writing, and I certainly enjoy those RomComs, so I had a good time.  And so, with my three-letter rating system, I give Union Arts Center’s “Table 17” a fresh and fun YAY-.  Settle into the table next door to Table 17 and enjoy the show.  And maybe interject a little here and there.  I said, “a little”!

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