Review: TABLE 17 at Portland Playhouse

Two years after their breakup, Dallas asks Jada to dinner, and she says yes. Is it a date? Neither of them knows, or is even sure they want it to be, and that uncertainty drives Douglas Lyons’ TABLE 17, which made a splash Off-Broadway in 2024 and now arrives at Portland Playhouse under the superb direction of Charles Grant.

The moment Tyharra Cozier dances onto the stage as Jada, the room is electric. It took me exactly one second to fall in love with her, and judging by the audience’s reaction, everyone else did too. As she gets ready to see the ex she hasn’t spoken to since their breakup, every familiar, tangled feeling is on display. She’s nervous, for obvious reasons. There’s nostalgia, perhaps some anger, and a glimmer of hope that he might still love her, along with fear of that same possibility. She wants to impress him without looking like she’s trying too hard (Wanda Walden’s stunning costumes ensure she pulls this off).

Then we meet Dallas (Marcus Lattimore), who's just as relatable and just as easy to fall for. He frets over his outfit, second-guesses his choice of restaurant, and wrestles with his complicated, lingering feelings for Jada. If you’ve ever been in love, you know these people. That instant recognition is what makes this play, and this production, so fantastic.

The action unfolds in a series of flashbacks that trace how they met, the arc and dissolution of their relationship, and how, after two years of silence, they ended up sitting across the table from each other. Lyons’ construction is a big part of the play’s pull. The script weaves past and present together, punctuated by fourth-wall-breaking asides that draw you right in.

Grant’s direction takes it a step further and puts the audience in the middle of the action. Portland Playhouse has been transformed into a restaurant, with the audience seated at tables and becoming part of the story.

Above all, there are the performances. Cozier and Lattimore are absolutely magnetic, individually and together. I have truly never been so invested in two people finding their way toward each other. Tyler Andrew Jones rounds out the cast in multiple roles, playing staff at the restaurant as well as a few people from the couple’s past. He’s great in all of them, with perfect comic timing.

TABLE 17 is heartwarming and funny, and this production is thrilling from start to finish. I highly, highly recommend it.

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