BACK STAGE August 8-14, 1997, HELL’S CUISINART
Reviewed by Peter Shaughnessy

Playwright David Caudle takes five identical studio apartments in a Hell’s Kitchen building, adds 15 characters, a noisy fire escape, and blends them all in “Hell’s Cuisinart.”
Five vignettes are united by their location and a white, stuffed teddy bear. All the characters share a similar discontent and an it-will-be-better-when… attitude.
Caudle gets to the heart of each situation quickly, and doesn’t linger long after it’s been resolved, but each scene is completed with a note of optimism, at times twisted and often unexpected.
Vincent Rutherford is the only actor that is double cast in major roles. He is perfectly melodramatic as a drag queen who injures his closeted boyfriend (Jay Potter) with his newly-pierced navel in “Jolly Roger.” He quietly smolders as the frustrated husband who just wants some space from his very own lunatic in “Helena Handbasket.”
One of the best-acted scenes is “A Part,” in which the man-hating Jalma (Sally Fairman) comes around to the point of civil conversation with her unwelcome roommate (Ean Sheehy) after learning a little more about who he is and where he comes from.
The unforgettable “Belgian Waffling” shows an ineffectual brother (Tyne Firmin) finally standing up to his younger sister (Kristen Erwin), who regularly keeps him out of his apartment while she engages in her own escapades. J. Bixby Elliot, as the Belgian of the title, exhibits great comic expression even though he is silent throughout the scene.
The idea is well executed by Caudle, director Andrew Volkoff, and the set designers, Steve & Jana Thompson. The acting is uneven, however, with some performances well-honed, but others coming off as unfinished and unfocused.