Biko Eisen Martin, left, and Gail Bean, right, play a former couple thinking about getting back together in ‘Table 17’ now playing at the Geffen Playhouse in West Los Angeles. Michael Rishawn, center, plays the maître d.
Courtesy photo
By Daniella Masterson
Contributing Writer
Remember when you could go to the cinema and see a Black romantic comedy like “Boomerang,” starring Eddie Murphy as a womanizer torn between lust and real love or “Love and Basketball,” starring Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps as two best friends who loved each other as much as they love basketball?
These films are considered a part of the golden era of Black romantic comedies because they flourished between the 1990s and early 2000s until the rise of the blockbuster comic hero-worship franchise took their place.
Playwright Douglas Lyons believes his play “Table 17,” now playing at the Geffen Playhouse will breathe new life into the genre and address more contemporary themes of love and laughter.
“Not to be pompous in any way, but ‘Table 17’ is taking the traditional form and nostalgia of the 1990s rom coms and flipping it on its head,” Lyons said. “It’s not just romantic, it’s making love accountable and making effort accountable when it comes to love.”
Rom coms are time-tested tropes that go as follows: Two lovable main characters encounter each other in a “meet-cute” which is a charming, unusual, or funny first encounter that sets the stage for their relationship. The lovable leads encounter various obstacles before achieving a “happily ever” resolution.
Fresh off its hit off-Broadway debut and from the creative minds of Lyons and director Zhailon Levingston, “Table 17” is a hilarious romp that brazenly tosses the standard rom com playbook aside. It is also a part of Lyons’ “Deep Breath
Trilogy” of plays dedicated to empowering Black women’s voices which include “Chicken & Biscuits,” and “Don’t Touch My Hair.”
“In ‘Table 17’, you’re meeting two characters who at one point had been engaged and together for five years and have not spoken for two years,” Lyons said. “They are reunited in front of you, and you do not know exactly why the one called the other to meet.
“But through the play’s flashbacks, you get the romantic comedy bits of the meet-cute, the night they met, the day they were engaged. But it is not a sweet version of a story. It’s the difficulty (in relationships) because they broke up and you learn why.
“It begs the question: What is their future? Will they get back together?” Lyons said. “And then we go one step further to ask, ‘does it really matter?’ It breaks down the formula to ask questions about love in a real way, not just celebrate the hope of what love can be, but the real work it takes to maintain love.”
The characters draw the audience in, who gladly and loudly cheer them on as the exes attempt to untangle their relationship. They also turn to their gay maître d’ who delivers sharp candor and impeccable comedic timing.
“The maître d’ is actually woven into their love story because they actually ask him advice about the date or the reunion because we don’t know if it’s a date yet,” Lyons said.
“If you go back in Black media and TV, queer folks were always the punchline. But now I feel we are seeing them as humans and a part of our community. They are contributors to Black art and are being brought into the conversation,” he added.
The cast includes Gail Bean as Jada; Biko Eisen-Martin as Dallas; and Michael Rishawn as River, Eric and others.
The Gil Cates Theater at Geffen Playhouse is located at 10886 Le Conte Ave., West Los Angeles. Performances are Wednesday through Sunday through Dec. 7. There will be no performance Nov. 27.
Tickets, currently priced between $36 and $139, are available by phone at 310-208-2028 or online at www.geffenplayhouse.org. Fees may apply.
All Geffen Playhouse productions are intended for an adult audience; children under 10 years of age will not be admitted.
