Skip to main content Skip to footer site map
Review: CLYDE'S at Berkeley Rep

Review: CLYDE'S at Berkeley Rep

Clyde's continues through February 26, 2023.

Clyde's

Written by Lynn Nottage

Directed by Taylor Reynolds

Berkeley Rep

A foodie play is right up my alley and I was hooked just walking into the Rhoda Theatre and seeing Wilson Chin's wonderfully detailed truck-stop kitchen. Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage's Tony Award-nominated play is a witty, often humorous, and poignant tale of second chances, dreams, and finding one's purpose constructed around the search for the perfect sandwich.

What may seem like a slight plotline is marvelously developed into an engrossing drama pitting four struggling ex-con kitchen workers against their heartless, cold boss. The battle percolates, then escalates while the four bond over their shared experiences. An excellent ensemble cast fully embodies their roles; Wesley Guimarães as Rafael, a failed bank robber, Cyndii Johnson as Leticia who robbed a Pharmacy to get meds for her ailing child, Louis Reyes McWilliams as Jason, imprisoned for aggravated assault, and Harold Surratt as Montrellous, the 'sensei 'of sandwiches. April Nixon has the juicy role of owner Clyde, a sassy, insult wielding bitch.

Review: CLYDE'S at Berkeley Rep

The kitchen workers are more than stereotypes as Nottage develops each into identifiable characters. Who doesn't believe in second chances and rooting for these seemingly hapless societal losers. Montrellous is the cypher here, spouting lines like "respect the recipe" and "just cause you outta prison don't mean you are". Order and composition are the elements of a great sandwich and the four bond over sharing their recipes.

Review: CLYDE'S at Berkeley Rep

Clyde will have none of it and resists changing the tried-and-true menu. The ex-con workers are merely interchangeable cogs in the kitchen staff, easily replaceable. It's a tough-as-nails performance and Nixon relishes her anger and rage. Nottage's message must be honored- none of us are bound by a single past mistake as much as society might disagree. It's a hopeful message that perhaps there's a perfect sandwich in our futures.

Clyde's continues through February 26, 2023. Tickets available at https://cloud.broadwayworld.com/rec/ticketclick.cfm?fromlink=2221592®id=18&articlelink=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.berkeleyrep.org%2Fshows%2Fclyde-s%2F?utm_source=BWW2022&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=article&utm_content=bottombuybutton1 or calling 510-647-2949

Photo credit: Kevin Berne



A World Premiere, West Coast Premieres & More Set for San Francisco Playhouse 21st Sea Photo
San Francisco Playhouse has announced its 21st season, to be presented September 2023 to September 2024. See full programming, and learn how to purchase tickets!

Review: MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG at 42nd Street Moon Photo
What did our critic think of MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG at 42nd Street Moon? Kudos to 42nd Street Moon for tackling Sondheim's challenging Merrily We Roll Along, a flop when introduced in 1981 but consistently reworked through the years to its present popularity (a Broadway run and film in the works).

Pear Theatre Will Present PEAR SLICES 2023 Beginning in April Photo
Pear Slices 2023 features nine new short plays. Playwrights include Barbara Anderson, Robin Booth, Leah Halper, Greg Lam, Sophia Naylor, Ross Peter Nelson and Bridgette Dutta Portman.

Sú North To Release Music Video For Single Yellow in April Photo
Alternative hip hop/rap artist Sú North (previously known as Sharif Hassan) is back with his latest single, 'Yellow,' and its accompanying music video, set for release on April 7th.


From This Author - Steve Murray

Steve Murray is a writer for Cabaret Scenes magazine, contributor to ForAllEvents and now BroadwayWorld. He started writing rock reviews for his college newspaper in the 1970’s, produced a va... (read more about this author)


Review: MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG at 42nd Street MoonReview: MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG at 42nd Street Moon
March 27, 2023

What did our critic think of MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG at 42nd Street Moon? Kudos to 42nd Street Moon for tackling Sondheim's challenging Merrily We Roll Along, a flop when introduced in 1981 but consistently reworked through the years to its present popularity (a Broadway run and film in the works).

Review: FIDDLER ON THE ROOF at Golden Gate TheatreReview: FIDDLER ON THE ROOF at Golden Gate Theatre
March 24, 2023

What did our critic think of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF at Golden Gate Theatre? By the time this review posts, this phenomenal touring production of ten-time Tony award winning Fiddler on the Roof will have packed up the shtetl and hit the road after a too brief 8-show run. Unfortunate for those who could not attend because Fiddler has never been so vibrant, so full of life and amazingly prescient to the alarming rise in forced immigrant migrations and rising antisemitism.

Review: FANNIE - THE MUSIC AND LIFE OF FANNIE LOU HAMER at TheatreWorks Silicon ValleyReview: FANNIE - THE MUSIC AND LIFE OF FANNIE LOU HAMER at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley
March 19, 2023

What did our critic think of FANNIE - THE MUSIC AND LIFE OF FANNIE LOU HAMER at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley?

Review: CLUE at SF PlayhouseReview: CLUE at SF Playhouse
March 17, 2023

What did our critic think of CLUE at SF Playhouse?

Review: SIX at Orpheum TheatreReview: SIX at Orpheum Theatre
February 23, 2023

What did our critic think of SIX at Orpheum Theatre? Six wives, six women, six individual stories all bonded by marriage to Henry VIII. Playwrights Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss explore each woman from their perspectives through a boisterous musical score mirroring easily recognizable contemporary pop and R&B vocalists. Not so much a history lesson as a bonding sisterhood tome, SIX is a high-powered, crowd-pleasing rock musical worthy of its many awards including Tony Award. for Best Original Score (Music and Lyrics).