A week and a half after news broke about sudden upheavel at Pittsburgh Public Theater, its home at the O’Reilly Theater in Downtown Pittsburgh was mostly quiet — except for the smaller performance space on the third floor, where music, laughter, gasps and shouts can still be heard.
Greeters helpfully guide patrons to the upper floor where New Horizon Theater has made a welcoming space for the Pittsburgh Public Theater Presents production of “Coconut Cake.”
The Public partnered with New Horizon Theater to present Melda Beaty’s two-act play, and Friday’s opening night audience had the pleasure of the playwright’s presence. With a tight-knit cast, a single setting and a more intimate performance space, the production feels informal and personal, and the team at New Horizon Theater has pulled together an exceptional production.
The concept behind “Coconut Cake” will feel familiar to many. A group of older men — all Black, with the exception of Hank (John Reilly) — meet in the mornings at a Chicago McDonald’s where they enjoy a chat and a game of chess. Each of them carries their own concerns: Hank is a recent widower who is trying to find a cure for his sudden and devastating loneliness; Eddie (Art Terry) is perpetually unfaithful to his wife, who has turned menacing of late; Joe (Alex Morris) is a landlord who runs into plenty of issues with his tenants; and Marty (Sheldon Ingram) is a church deacon who is often doing his best to hold everyone around him together.
Then there is the erratic “Gotd*mnit” (Kevin Brown), who shows up often to make grand and strange pronouncements, but who harbors deep secrets of his own.
The setup is simple, and much of the play is conversational, funny and relatable. But the beginnings of drama come to a head when Joe rents one of his properties to the alluring Ms. Brulée, a baker who makes the most delicious coconut cake.
Thanks in part to compelling sound design by Wayne Gaines, we are taken back a decade and a half to a time of musical cell phone ringtones, the downfall of Mayor Rod Blagojevich and — as Hank and Joe loudly demonstrate — arguments about Obamacare. The sterile-yet-warm McDonald’s set is well-lit by Liam Grande and realistically dressed and furnished by set designer Herb Newsome. The actors often retreat to their own corners of the stage, but there is no lack of physicality in the play.
Each character has their explosive moments, especially as the play reaches its climax. Ingram is a gentle and steady presence, until his own revelation occurs; then he is shaken and heart-rendingly vulnerable. Terry’s Eddie becomes more and more weary as the play’s time shifts forward, but never quite loses his humor. Reilly’s Hank goes from being an awkward presence, almost the butt of the joke, to being a voice of reason and kindness. And Morris’s Joe is full of bluster throughout, bombastic and teeming with swagger, until the very last minute.
Beaty manages to deeply explore themes of aging, marriage, faith and grief while drawing these characters with impressive specificity, and director Eileen J. Morris guides the steps and speeches of each actor with humanity. The music choices, pacing and even the placement of the actors in relation to each other in any given scene builds tension and humor.
While Pittsburgh Public Theater may be in a sudden and uncertain transition period, don’t overlook the O’Reilly Theater when you walk past; waiting inside is a delicious slice of “Coconut Cake.”
“Coconut Cake,” presented by Pittsburgh Public Theater and produced by New Horizon Theater, will run through June 14 at the O’Reilly Theater in Downtown Pittsburgh. For tickets, visit ppt.org.