Theater Review: Coffee House, Greenwich Village

published 16 January 2012... and by the way, the first time I ever panned an actor's performance.  At first I was racked with guilt. But I'm a performer's critic: I not only criticized her performance, I offered her a suggestion (and remarked on her beauty).  

The Manhattan Repertory Theatre’s Winter One-Act Competition continues this weekend featuring, among others, “Coffee House, Greenwich Village” written by John Doble and directed by Olivia Harris. 

Two nervous strangers are set to meet for a blind date, premeditated via internet dating site, those modern matchmaking means now ubiquitous as Greenwich Village coffee houses.  Jack, played with anxious appeal by the likeable Nicholas J. Pearson, arrives first, with flowers and sweaty brow, hopeful he will soon find a soul mate.  Enter Pamela, played by Elizabeth Dilley, radiant as a young Bette Davis, but tentative here in her role as temptress. 

The playwright has woven a web of dialogue in which the characters appear by turns to fiercely dominate and then submit to one another through light, impersonal small-talk.  Pamela, in what at first seems like a bad joke by a jumpy girl on a first date, notes that women are like cats.  “We’re feline,” she says.  But as the story unfolds, we realize that men are not, in turn, canine: in Pamela’s world, they’re the mice.

Mr. Doble has constructed a story of Hitchcockian scope that in the one-act format feels rushed.  He has endowed the role of Jack with a range of comedic and emotional depth for the actor, which Mr. Pearson takes full advantage of.  However the role of Pamela still seems to be a mystery to both Mr. Doble and Ms. Dilley.  To be fair, she’s a mysterious character.  Still, I wish the actress had grounded herself more emphatically in Pamela’s sexual energy, since the only concrete thing we know of her is that sex is, quite literally, her weapon.

Alex Engquist (handsome, underused) plays the small but pivotal role of waiter in the coffee house who inexplicably never delivers the second round of espressos the couple asks for. 

What’s exciting about the transaction between Jack and Pamela is how quickly fantasy can turn to cold, cruel reality.  Also, the way their internet hook-up plays out like so many others in the Village everyday: foreplay, climax, followed by a hurried goodbye.

“Coffee House, Greenwich Village” by John Doble plays at 2pm today at the Manhattan Repertory Theatre located at 303 W. 42^nd St on the 6^th floor.  For more info visit www.manhattanrep.com

Delightful, Delicious, D'Espresso

When time permits, it is not in poor taste to hunt for a bargain.  I thought I'd found one when the move-in papers at my new apartment claimed that, as a resident of this building, I'd receive a 15% discount at D'Espresso, a small coffee shop around the corner.  But when I waved my key fob and asked my barista if it got me a discount, he replied with a brusque "absolutely not" without skipping a beat.

Lesson: Never believe what your apartment people tell you.

I thought since I was there I might as well stay, so the barista, whose name turned out to be Ese (like essay) and whose manner turned out not to be so surly, made me a fine macchiato and welcomed me to the neighborhood.  He recommended me restaurants and we passed pleasantries while other customers came and went.
D'Espresso (the Lower East Side location) is small and straightforward, stark and sparsely decorated, all off-white with a couple of paintings of coffee beans.  The music is upbeat and modern: nothing you've heard, but nothing that sounds unfamiliar either.  All this comprises an atmosphere of cool, ordered calm: a lovely environment in which to enjoy a coffee.  There is wi-fi and window seating.  And as for that bargain hunt, next time I'll probably stay home with my Nespresso Essenza.  But on special occasions when i do go back, I hope it's Ese who's there to greet me.