LAFPI

ICT streams virtual presentation of tender,
uproarious ‘Slow Food’ by Wendy MacLeod

LONG BEACH, Calif. (March 30, 2021) — A vacationing couple heads to a Greek restaurant in Palm Springs for their anniversary dinner — but will the marriage survive the service? International City Theatre announces a virtual presentation of Slow Food, a tender, uproarious comedy by Wendy MacLeod, directed by Marya Mazor. Slow Food will stream April 29 through May 16 on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays (dark Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays) at www.InternationalCityTheatre.org.

Stu James (NAACP, Broadway World and Scenie award-winner for Recorded in Hollywood) and Meredith Thomas (Lifetime’s The Wrong Crush and The Wrong Boy Next Door alongside Vivica A. Fox) star as an ordinary, middle-aged couple hoping to celebrate 30 wonderful years of marriage with a special dinner. Perry Ojeda (Is He Dead? at ICT; Broadway productions of On the Town, Blood Brothers, Imaginary Friends) is the wacky waiter who insinuates his way into their meal, forcing the couple to examine their past — as well as their future together.

“The play was inspired by a real evening I spent with my family,” explained MacLeod in an interview. “Everybody was tired, and hungry, and it was Sunday night and we found one restaurant still open and we sat down to order our meal, and we encountered the most extraordinary waiter that I’ve ever met. And by that I mean bad. The worst waiter I have ever, ever had. And he seemed to kind of thrill to his power to control whether or not we got our food and drinks and when we got them and who got them first. It was just a fascinating character study.”

The creative team behind Slow Food includes costume designer Kim DeShazo, sound designer Dave Mickey, prop master Patty Briles; video editor Mike Bradecich; casting director Michael Donovan; and stage manager Donna Parsons.

According to International City Theatre artistic director caryn desai [sic], “We all need to laugh, now more that ever. Of course there’s no substitute for live, human communication and connection. But, in the meantime, we must find ways to keep connected and engaged until we can once again come together safely.”

Playwright Wendy MacLeod is best known as the author of Women in Jeopardy! and as a writer for the TV cult sensation Popular. She has also earned acclaim and awards for the plays Schoolgirl Figure, The House of Yes, The Water Children and Juvenilia. The film version of The House of Yes, starring Parker Posey, won the Sundance Award and international acclaim. A professor at Kenyon College and Northwestern University, MacLeod regularly writes for The New York Times, Salon, McSweeney’s, The Washington Post and NPR’s “All Things Considered.”

Tickets to Slow Food are priced at $30 per household and are available for purchase now at www.InternationalCityTheatre.org.