An Empty Plate

I got to go to opening night of the "comic tragedy," An Empty Plate in the Cafe du Grand Boeuf at Salem Theatre Company last night, and it was indeed tragic, and it was indeed funny. 

Sebastian Konarski as Antoine, Andrew Winson as Victor, and Dann Anthony Maurno as Claude.

The Salem Theatre Company consistently produces plays that are a delight to watch.  I became so attached to the characters in An Empty Plate, I was sad to see the curtain close at the end of the second act.  I wanted more!

An Empty Plate in the Cafe du Grand Boef is on stage through December 17. It is poignant, funny, and at times absurd - a lovely respite from the holiday chaos swirling outside. 

Here is the show description from SalemTheatre.com: 

Billed as “a comic tragedy in seven courses,” An Empty Plate in the Café du Grand Boeuf takes place in the title’s café. No menu necessary at this, the world's greatest restaurant, because they have everything! On this hot summer night, the staff awaits the imminent arrival of Victor, the Café's owner and sole patron. But when "Monsieur" returns from the bullfights in Madrid, disheveled and morose, his wish is simple: to die of starvation at his own table. The frantic staff, whose very lives depend on Victor's appetite, try all means to change his mind, but to no avail. Finally, they make a last-ditch plea: out of respect for their life's work, will he let them prepare one final meal—provided they leave it in the kitchen? Instead they will describe it, course by course, over a series of empty platters. Victor reluctantly consents, and the "feast of adjectives and adverbs" begins, celebrating the joys of cooking, sex, bullfighting and the collected works of Ernest Hemingway. The Boston Globe calls it "…an absurdist tragicomedy…that manages to pay homage to Hemingway and Beckett in an…often hilarious existential romp."


Pair the play with one of the Theatre's restaurant partners, and you have a great date night.  The shopping can wait until tomorrow!