By Marcina Zaccaria
What would make a Sunday brunch better than buttered biscuits and jam? At The Nuyorican Poets Café, Brunch Theatre presented seven new plays at Buttered Biscuits.
Musings on relationships and ugly landlords all got hashed out at the café table, while audience members were able to enjoy orange juice and fresh biscuits and jam, available as they walked in. With time for mimosas and pleasant conversation, Buttered Biscuits was designed to melt away any early Spring blues.
The seven new plays included:
Class Pass
Written by Adin Eshman
Directed by Kaela Shaw
Prime Real Estate
Written by Haley Jakobson
Directed by Liz Rogers
Park Bench
Written by Theo Wolf
Directed by Amelia Cain
Seaweed
Written by Benjamin Ducoff
Directed by Benjamin Stanton
For You
Written by Yusong Liu
Directed by Haley Jakobson
Deep Love of Nightgowns, Little Shame
Written by Haley Jakobson
Directed by Liz Rogers
Boner Problems
Written by Trevor Stankiewicz, Rudy Gerson
Directed by Hannah McKechnie
Clever vignettes were performed by Ben Stanton.
Nuyorican Poets Café, home to slam poetry and jazz music, served as a colorful place for this informal event.
More than a staged reading, the memorized works had a contemporary feel. Words passed from friend to friend had a fleeting quality. Plays featured a love of food, and a love of the written word. Comedy landed as easily as sorrow, as the plays progressed. Discussions at yoga class or over dinner featured an honest look at everyday suffering, with just enough verve. Unafraid to use strong language (and show up scantily clad), each play was a burst of fresh energy.
Sound design was by Rudy Gerson, and lighting design was provided by Hannah McKechnie.
The limited engagement ran April 9-10 at Nuyorican Poets Cafe (236 E. 3rd St., http://www.nuyorican.org/.