Antoinette LaVecchia(Photo credit: T. Charles Erickson)
To what lengths will a Carolina-born and raised Southern Presbyterian woman go to impress the Jewish mother of her New Jersey born and raised husband? The answer: She makes the Seder dinner herself from start to finish, that includes grinding the fish for gefilte fish. To be totally honest, there was to be no repeat of this labor of love over the next fifty years, particularly as it was soon revealed to my wife that canned gefilte fish was doctored up by my mother to taste fresh.
So this critic had a hearty laugh recalling that personal memory shared by Catholic Italian New Yorker Giulia (Antoinette LaVecchia) during I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti , in which she describes her decision to win the heart, body and soul of her Jewish boyfriend Ethan by preparing a traditional Seder dinner from scratch.
But the laughter has already been virtually non-stop since Giulia began in earnest the preparation and cooking of a three course Italian dinner consisting of antipasto, green salad, and spaghetti Bolognese including wine that she will personally serve to the lucky (pay a little extra and you get to eat) couples seated at small tables to the left and right of her in a fully equipped, on-stage kitchen.
I will take it on faith that Ms. LaVeccia's ability to engage us is a reasonable match for the real Giulia Melucci whose written memoir has been adapted for the stage by Jacques Lamarre. Granted that this stage and kitchen-worthy entertainment is as much an excuse for a culinary exercise in timing, it is an often a tasty serving of heart-breaks garnished with humor. To read the rest of the review and for more information on the production please go to: http://curtainup.com/spaghettinj14.html
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