Stew – Play – Review – ACT Contemporary Theatre – Shows I've Seen

@showsiveseen Zora Howard's "#Stew" #play by @acttheatre. I always love @Nyce Somar's matriarchal stage deliveries. So many audience reactions. Delightful expressions, deadpans, utterances, & comebacks. Well-planned beginning/ending bookends. Buy your tickets now since it closes this weekend! #family #food #BET #black #BiPOC #POC #hungry #theatre #showsiveseen #soup ♬ The Art Of Letting Go – Neon Dreams & Matthew Mole

Elevator Thoughts (aka Tweet): Zora Howard’s Stew play by ACT Theatre. I always love Shaunyce Omar’s matriarchal stage deliveries. So many audience reactions. Delightful expressions, deadpans, utterances, & comebacks. Well-planned beginning/ending bookends. #soup #family #food #BET #black #BiPOC #POC #hungry

Recommendation
See it, especially if you’re okay with plays that are more dialogue than action.

Synopsis from the Theatre: Mama’s up early to prepare the perfect stew for a very important community meal. As the day rolls on, tempers go from a simmer to a boil, and secrets rise to the surface for three generations of Tucker women. When the violence hovering around the periphery of their lives begins to intrude upon the sanctity of the kitchen, mothers and daughters wrestle with loss and hope in this hilarious, haunting drama.

Attended Performance Date: Opening Night 3/21/24 – Keep your eyes peeled for my preview posts on my website and social media if you want earlier notification of shows I’ve seen. Get your tickets now since it closes this weekend on 3/31/24!

Type: Play

World Premiere: No

Several or Few Scenes: About 3 scenes

Several or Few Settings/Locations: Just one, an open-concept kitchen

Static (Stationary) Set? Yes

Prior Exposure/Knowledge Required: No

Defined Plot/Storyline: No, it was more dialogue than action.

Equity Actors: 2

Total Number of Actors: 4

Perceived Pace of the Show: Medium speed

Length (Including Any Intermission): 1.75 hours – I kept thinking there would be an intermission during 2 climactic moments!

Was there an intermission? No

Was This the First Time I Attended a Production of this Show? Yes

Would I See It Again 3 Years from Now? No, but it was good.

Other Rave(s) Not Mentioned Above

Play Title: It wasn’t until days later that I realized the name of this play could be a double meaning like how the title of the Rent musical meant two things.
Shakespeare Scene: The Shakespeare storyline felt random at the time when watching this play. Again, it wasn’t until days later that I realized in hindsight that the Richard III reenactment fittingly foreshadowed the reveal at the end of Stew.
Deadpans: A couple funny favorites include “You know who else was tired? Jesus!” and something like “I was 17 when you popped out of my pussy.”
Beginning and Ending: The play bookend-ed with an unexpected surprise. It effectively hooked the audience at the beginning and left the audience wondering/thinking at the end. Albeit I’m still trying to process/understand WTF happened at the end. What was the message and what did the line “Is it enough?” mean?!
Broken Glass: It’s always a crowd pleaser, especially when involving violent outbursts.
Food Aroma: The light savory smell of soup permeated the theatre during the show. But a part of me wished the actors sauteed an intoxicatingly onion-y mirepoix on-stage for a stronger fragrance like in Mrs Krishnan’s Party or ACT Theatre’s Skylight play. The other part of me was relieved that they didn’t generate smells that stuck to my clothes, which is my restaurant pet peeve.

Rant(s)

“Why?”: As I mentioned in ACT Theatre’s Every Brilliant Thing, I hate when characters continually ask “Why?” like an annoying child.
Character Backgrounds: Especially in the beginning, it was difficult determining where Nelly (played by Varinique “V” Davis) fit in the family tree. At this point, I’m 90% sure she was Lil’ Mama’s (played by Kataka Corn) aunt, Lillian’s (played by Shermona Mitchell) sister, and Mama’s (played by Shaunyce Omar) daughter.

Other Musing(s) and Observation(s)

Family of Actors: The concept of a stage actor family reminded me of Seattle’s “power theatre family,” the Russells. Incidentally, their matriarch Faith Bennett Russell was in the audience on opening night.
Phone: I wonder how well this play will age since it used a corded house phone, which was a semi-important plot device. Call me a millennial, but does anybody own a house phone anymore?

Theatre Company: ACT Contemporary Theatre

Venue: The Falls Theatre at ACT Contemporary Theatre

Venue Physical Address: 700 Union St, Seattle, WA 98101

Price: Medium to expensive

Tickets: https://acttheatre.org/2023-24-season/stew/

Ticket Affordability Options: Check out the the theatre’s official discounts page or TodayTix/Goldstar. There are also pay-what-you-choose seats that you can self-select on the theatre website.

Dates: March 15 to 31, 2024

Seating: Assigned Seating

Parking: Paid lot or paid street parking. If I don’t walk to this theatre, I park in the old convention center garage with the entrance between Seneca and Pike. There is indoor access from the garage to the theatre if you walk through the old convention center.

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