Rob Nagle stars as James Beard in I Love to Eat by James Still. Playing January 8 – February 3, 2013, at Portland Center Stage. Tickets and information at pcs.org and 503-445-3700. Photo by Patrick Weishampel.

So as you saw from my post a couple weeks ago, I was psyched to see this production of I Love to Eat at Portland Center Stage and I had tickets to watch the Sunday matinee show on January 20. Before I get into the I Love to Eat Review, I have some extra bonus activity. I went with a Meetup group called Foodie who had arranged a backstage tour at noon for us before the show (PCS offers a similar tour  every 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month that are free to the public).

Being able to join this tour before viewing the play definitely deepened my appreciation of the effort it takes to produce what we saw in those 90 minutes, and I had no idea there was so much going on in this building every time I pass it by. We saw the “before” photos when this armory was just one huge cavernous hallway that still was quite the host (including Teddy Roosevelt!) since even then it was realized what a marvelous public space it was. It’s impressive that this building from 1891 was eventually renovated in 2006 into what is now the Gerding Theater and actually exceeds LEED platinum requirements in being an eco-friendly energy efficient building!

As we stood in the lobby admiring the beautiful modern space, our guide pointed out a rain drain that uses rainwater in the toilets, and all the skylights. Considering how many lights (and we saw SO MANY lights) that are required in theaters, and the natural original drafty nature and echo-y acoustics of this historic building that have been updated as well, this is quite an astounding accomplishment.

Then, we took a small stop to get a preview of the set before watching the performance and admire the seats made from recycled material and the clever ventilation system they have under every other seat to provide comfort but also efficiency. From there, we headed backstage to gape that it turns out dressing rooms are not really as glamorous as shown in the TV/movies, walked past a dressform that has the nightrobe that Rob Nagle wears in playing James Beard and it was gigantic (turns out, just like James Beard, Rob is 6’3″!) and got a glimpse of a vestige of the original armory in the corner of their Main Stage green room.

Next, backstage we were taken aback by the number of ropes and pulleys and how deep the stage could really get, especially if you open up back all the way to the original front doors (the back doors are now the Gerding Theater’s front doors). We also got to learn the secrets of the refrigerator, and hear how Rob is actually using Greg Higgins’ knives (graciously lent after getting some food prep lessons with Chef Higgins) and the knives have Chef Higgins’ initials on them.

A walk through the Costume Shop was amazing the number of pieces that the staff needs to track be it clothes or shoes or the hairlines painstakingly dressed into actors’ wigs, the costumes required for a production, or the measurements of the cast as they make full mockups in muslin before redoing the whole thing in the actual fabric- look how detailed even the mockup is!  P.S. That corset is a preview for their upcoming production of Venus in Fur…The slight padding on some of the dressforms which are there to “fill out” the extra of an actor/actress, that must be awesome for self-esteem…

It is a very thorough tour- I think we weaved our way back and forth on all four floors. Yes, the remodel of the armory single hall into a theater included adding 4 floors- you can see the outline in this diorama of the Armory. You can also see a little diorama that was created for the stage design so that everyone knows what the intention is even while it is being built- and there are so many artists involved in creating all the details, it really is so many moving pieces and parts. I also learned that stage design, and even sound and directing, can be copyrighted (and which it is for this show). Look at how simultaneously adorable and detailed that is, and how it really communicates the feel of the play. There were lots of these little dioramas in the Bruce Carey Canteen. I felt so much lost opportunity that since I moved to Portland I haven’t really attended many shows- I have to definitely correct this now. I’ll be back for Somewhere In Time and The People’s Republic of Portland

And now about the show I Love to Eat.  It was amazing how one man was able to keep several hundred people entranced for 90 minutes,  feeling like a guest in his home as he tells us stories or doles out advice, getting glimpses of his yearn for connection and extroverted personality with his interactions on the phone, a somewhat believable sequence as he converses and with Elsie the cow, admiring his technique and watching as mayonnaise is made right in front of our eyes and assembled into parsley raw onion sandwiches (hundreds of people were so jealous of the people in the front row. They should consider offering that in the Armory Cafe after the show).

Yet, there is also an underlying sorrow and disappointment and loneliness that life did not turn out as he had hoped, and that all the episodes of the first cooking show in which he hosted are lost, that he never realized he would accomplish the fame he hoped for (the James Beard foundation which carries on his enthusiasm for food and education was founded after his death). He was trying to make food accessible but broaden everyone’s horizons at the same time, a harbinger who didn’t get to see how Portland would become a foodie city and pioneer the food cart scene and celebrate local cuisine to a point it is poked fun at on Portlandia.

There isn’t really a narrative to the play- mostly it is as meandering as you would expect if you were having natural conversation, abruptly changing course just when it hits on something that you are really interested in exploring more in depth, as if (and ok you are) sharing him with a group of people. But as we all well know from our own gatherings with friends, that can still be a good time. Just don’t go in thinking this is going to be a penetrating biography- this isn’t a foodie version of the movie Amadeus.

The director Jessica Kubzansky did an excellent job in having Rob move everywhere on stage just as if he lived in it and using all the space- including all around the stage area- to make it more dimensional, and the scenic designer Tom Buderwitz crafted a space that felt charming and thoughtful and warm. That flowing, fluttering silk robe looked gorgeous costume designer Jeff Cone. Thank you playwright James Still for writing this play to help breathe more into the name James Beard. And Rob Nagle, your eyebrow control is amazing.