Review: “Sauced” by Erin Brindley and Terry Podorski. Music by Annastasia Workman. Cocktail Design by Murray Stenson. Food by “Nordo Lefesczki”. With Mark Siano, Billie Wildrick, Opal Peachey and Ray Tagavilla as Saul. Now through November 13 at Cafe Nordo, in the Theo Chocolate Factory, 3400 Phinney Ave North, Fremont.
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| The sexy and talented Billie Wildrick and Mark Siano in Cafe Nordo’s “Sauced”. |
To be honest, I’m not sure if I’m writing a theater review or a food review; Cafe Nordo, the food/theatrical collective that started putting on dinner/theater events a year ago with “The Modern American Chicken” and “Bounty”, aren’t your everyday producers of dinner theater fare. The food is local, sustainable and fine bistro quality; the entertainment portion of the evening is hip, laid back but artistically valid. We’re not talking about sitting in a tacky suburban dinner theater eating rubber chicken and seeing “Under the Yum Yum Tree”, (a horrific experience I’ve actually had, by the way, in Maryville, Missouri circa 1983…)
Their first two shows featured chicken and seafood as the raison d’etre; “Sauced” puts the focus clearly on booze, cocktails specifically, and in that regard, the Nordo team gets an “A”. They presciently hired beloved, local Cocktail Master Murray Stenson of Zig Zag Café a couple of days before Stenson was named “Best Bartender in America” by his peers. And judging by the results on display at “Sauced”, Mr Stenson more than earned that title. There are four cocktails featured during the night, (the cocktails are included in the full price ticket; bargain patrons can opt for a cheaper ticket and drinks ala carte), and all four were various degrees of amazing, intriguing, complex and mature…these are NOT drinks for people who only enjoy sipping from a sugar rimmed glass. Stenson’s creations are for serious connoisseurs of fine liquor and complicated and precisely calculated libations. My favorites were the first offering, “The Slippage”, a combination of Blanquette de Limoux, the oldest sparkling wine, and St. Germaine’s essence of elderflowers, and the final drink, “Nordo’s Ephemera” which they are describing as, “Ingenious. Infused. Intrigue… From the secret laboratory deep within Theo Chocolate. Ephemeral.” Which translates as, it’s a new chocolate liqueur being created by the geniuses at Theo Chocolates, the location of the event in Fremont. I don’t think it’s available commercially, yet, but I’m getting a bottle when it is; unlike most chocolate flavored liqueurs, the Ephemera was subtle, smokey and mature…the fine malt whiskey of chocolate liqueurs. (And, I bet it’s awesome in coffee, too.)
Food was secondary to the cocktails, but the small plates offered were of high quality. The first course was a spicy nut nibble; it was fine, but not one of my particular favorites. But, I was very impressed with Course Two which consisted of various pickled treats:
Beet-pickled quail egg, lightly pickled cucumber and cream cheese wrapped in house cured sockeye, juniper-berry-pickled beet enrobed in a goat cheese and saffron carrot sheet, cerignola green olive, all nestled in a dill custard.
All four nibbles were fresh, flavorful and the perfect accompaniment to the cocktail, with my only gripe being, I could have easily eaten a half dozen servings of the course. (there are no seconds). The third course was called “The Fried Plate” and consisted of a large, jalapeño pepper stuffed with emmenthaler, cheddar, and marinated sirloin, rolled in batter and deep fried. I eyed it warily because I’m not a big fan of peppers, but it was surprisingly sweet and mild…again, I could have easily devoured a couple more of these. It was accompanied by a small, cornmeal fried preserved lemon; this was the only thing I didn’t finish eating. The combination of grit and intense lemon mush was what I imagine it must be like to eat a Swiffer sheet after you’ve swept a sandy floor. Not for me.
But, the dessert made up for the lemon moosh. “A Blackberry Cloud” was a simple French meringue with crème anglaise and wild Washington blackberries. It was pleasantly cool after the bite of the previous course and not overly sweet and a fine complement with the aforementioned chocolate liqueur. It was a rich dessert, so I was satisfied with just the one…which leads me to mention, this is NOT a foodie event. The emphasis is firmly on the cocktail so don’t come expecting to fill up. My best advice is to have a light meal an hour or so before the show, (but, not enough to fill you up) and/or another light meal AFTER the show. You will not leave Nordo with an engorged belly; your senses should be stimulated and the food is quite enjoyable but the intent is to experience the flavors and nuances of the food with the cocktails and not to wolf down enough sustenance to have the energy to drive back home and go to bed with a full belly. If that’s your goal in eating, then save your money and go through the drive thru at Jack in the Box.
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| Also sexy; also talented: Ray Tagavilla and Opal Peachey. |
Finally, we come to the theatrical part of the evening. “Sauced” is about booze and what goes better with booze than a little noir, so the Nordo team of Erin Bradley and Terry Podorski have come up with a wrap around story that’s straight out of a James Cain novel or a Bogart film involving a surly but handsome bar owner, a sultry singer with a past, the sweet dame who loves the bar owner, and the pragmatic bartender with a secret or two of his own up his sleeve. The story concerns a purloined cocktail recipe that’s apparently worth a fortune, but the backstory is really secondary to the mood being created by the characters. And, to be honest, I wasn’t that involved in the story; it wasn’t anything new or clever or even that interesting, but I was interested and intrigued by the characters and the actors playing them. Mark Siano, best known for his dance theater/comedy cabaret act, The Freedom Dancers, makes an appealing and sexy leading man with just the right combination of roguish charm and romantic menace. He’s well matched with his leading lady, Billie Wildrick as the sexy chanteuse with a heart of ice. Both actors look right for the period setting and they seem to be having a good time with the campy, mock, guys n dolls type dialogue. Ms Wildrick probably shines best when she sings; her best moments were when she was at the mic belting out pop standards or one of the original songs written for this show. Mr Siano, a lighter weight singer than Ms Wildrick, also made an appealingly roguish crooner in the vein of Harry Connick, Jr. in his numbers. Both performers are having fun with their roles, and they made an appealing couple.
The divinely named Opal Peachey, (Director/Writer Erin Brindley sat at my table during the first part of the show and assured us, “It’s her real name; I’ve seen her driver’s license and I sign her paycheck every week!”) plays the tough dame/partner in love with Mr Siano’s character. Ms Peachey is perfect casting for her role; she looks VERY period appropriate and her tough/tender voice is heartbreakingly embittered with the hard breaks she’s received in life. She’s adorable.
But the highlight of the show is the character of the wise bartender who freely dispenses sage advice to the other characters in the show and alternately lecturing the audience on the history of alcohol in general, and the cocktail with very specific detail. He’s played by Ray Tagavilla and while I’ve only been reviewing plays for the last 9 months, I’ve seen Mr Tagavilla in a number of productions and I have to say he’s very quickly becoming one of my favorite actors in Seattle. In every show I’ve seen him in, he’s surprised me with his versatility at adapting the different moods, accents, and personas of the characters he’s played. His character in “Sauced”, Saul the bartender, is really the center of the play and Mr Tagavilla is able to not only focus that attention but command it. His chief asset here, is his voice, utilizing a standard 1940’s gritty, “been there, seen it all” clipped, character actor’s banter but making it his own and smoothly switching from the loose, slower cadence when speaking to the other characters in the show to a faster paced, radio broadcaster, “this is what you gotta know” style when he’s lecturing the audience on the history of the cocktail. Ray Tagavilla is nominated for a Gregory Award this year and has primarily worked in smaller productions. Judging on the body of his work so far, I’m thinking that Mr Tagavilla will soon be playing larger roles at larger theaters in the not too distant future. He has the chops to play some big parts for some big name directors.
I’m not sure how to rate the entire experience at Cafe Nordo. The drinks were amazing, the food was fine and the theater was pleasant, but slight. The full price ticket is $55 and my midwestern sensibilities cringe a bit at the price; that’s a lot of money for four drinks, some nibbles and 8 cabaret songs. I enjoyed myself and I’m glad I went but I’m not sure if it’s the best value in town. I suppose if you break it down: 4 speciality cocktails at most bars in Seattle are easily going to run you $6 to $9 a drink, (but, the drinks WERE small); and a couple plates of appetizers can easily run you $6 to $9 a plate. If you add it all up on the low end of the scale, that’s 8 drinks/plates at 6 bucks a pop for a total of $48 plus $7 buck for a cover/show charge. If you look at it in those terms, it is a pretty sweet deal for a date night comparable to going to shows at The Showbox or The Triple Door. I’ll give it a passing grade, valuewise.
Who’s this for? Foodies. Cocktail Connoisseurs. Couples looking for a nice “Date Night” venue. Lovers of theme theater. Noir Fanatics. Fans of the talent involved, (though I’m not sure the younger hipster fans of Mark Siano’s Freedom Dancers would be very amused…no one wears Spandex or Lycra in “Sauced” and there’s not ONE Olivia Newton John song.)
– Michael Strangeways
