Review – “Dinner at Home Between Deaths”

Dinner at Home Between Deaths (Photo – Michael Lamont).

Advertised as a “pitch black comedic thriller,” I was immediately intrigued by this play written be Andrea Lepcio and directed by Stuart Ross.

By Carol Edger Germain

Sean Lynch (Todd Waring), a workaholic financial adviser and bumbling household helpmate, abruptly declares to his type A, high society, always in a rush wife, Fiona (Diane Cary), that they are going on vacation to Ireland. She manages to spare him a moment of attention because her curiosity and suspicion have been aroused by this out-of-character announcement. After learning of a missing employee at Sean’s office (the sexy young nerd Amielynn Abellera) and some other puzzling facts, and getting some insight from her sister Kat (Andrea Evans) who arrives at the wrong time with the right idea, the action proceeds toward trying to live up to its title.

However, it appeared the actors and director were struggling to bring the necessary amount of comedy and drama to the production to make it a successful black comedy, because the dialogue and sequence of events were slow and stilted, and in my opinion didn’t include enough deaths to use the plural in the title.

The set design was clever, and interesting to watch as a ceiling fixture transformed into a sailboat and a table became a bathtub, but those were the most unique attributes of the play. The amateur dialogue just could not be brought to life by the talent of these unquestionably proficient actors. After the play, my friends and I tried to run with the plot and imagine an epilogue that we hoped occurred after the stage went dark.

Dinner at Home Between Deaths
Odyssey Theatre
2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90025
Performances: Jan. 16 – March 6.
• Free street parking, or $4 in the lot
• Through Sun., May 8
Friday and Saturday at 8 pm, Sunday at 2 pm
• $30, general admission, discount tickets available at goldstar.com.
Purchase tickets here.