Jonathan Fielding as Wally and Robert Kropf as Andre.
Photo: Joe Kenehan
Review by James Judd
The Harbor Stage Company in Wellfleet is serving up a superb world premiere stage adaptation of the film My Dinner with Andre. The semi-autobiographical, 43-year-old film, scripted by Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory and directed by Louis Malle, sounds remarkably modern on stage. If you’ve never seen the film, you needn’t. It works beautifully on stage, and no primer is necessary.
The simplicity of the premise—two men sitting and talking over dinner—seems like a natural for a theatrical adaptation. A play with just one set, no scene changes, three actors, minimal costumes and lighting, and just a smattering of underscoring is a producer’s dream. But the creators, both still living, have not previously allowed it to happen. “No one has done the movie as a play in the U.S. before because it seemed weird to us and we always said no,” reads a quote from Wallace Shawn on the theater’s website. “But now, it’s the least weird thing happening in our country.”
However they managed to convince the pair that they could do the script justice, this production is a reason to rejoice. Memories of Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory, the two charismatic actors who wrote and starred in the film, are quickly swept aside by the lived-in performances of two of Harbor Stage’s co-founders, Jonathan Fielding and Robert Kropf. As the more articulate half of the pair, Andre (Kropf) has most of the dialogue. Kropf is tasked with delivering these extended monologues live, and he does so in a way that claims them as his own. It’s a stellar accomplishment.
Fielding, meanwhile, is right there with him. If people are only able to remember one thing from the film, it’s likely Wallace Shawn’s on-the-edge-of-goofy smile and sputtering delivery. Fielding’s take on the less verbal, more philosophical Wally is completely believable. His ability to create a new character without sacrificing everything that made the film’s many fans love Wally deserves an extra scoop of dessert. And Robin Bloodworth’s mostly silent role as The Waiter contributes greatly to the sense that you’re eavesdropping on a real conversation. His very subtle disdain for Wally is proof that there are no small parts.
The film version was a result of a years-long collaboration in the late 1970s between Shawn, then an emerging playwright and actor, and Gregory, a rising avant-garde theater director and actor. The dialogue is based on several years of their recorded conversations about the purpose of theater and its significance in the grander scheme of life. Gregory’s tales about traveling across Europe in search of spiritual enlightenment provide most of the play’s comedy.
No director is credited in the program. The adaption is credited to The Company. Perhaps Production Stage Manager D’Arcy Dersham is responsible for the fluid pacing. Evan Farley’s restaurant set is perfect. Lighting design by John R. Malinowski is first-rate. Mary Fitz is credited with the props, which include the food and drink served to actors. It looks delicious. Eat before you go.
My Dinner with Andre is performed Thursdays through Saturdays, 7 p.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m., with an additional show on Wednesday, July 31 at 7 p.m., through August 3. Friday, July 19 is Pay-What-You-Can, first come, first served. For all other tickets ($25) and information, call 508.349.6800 or visit harborstage.org.
