CHICAGO—For regular theatergoers, Windy City Playhouse’s aptly named “A Recipe for Disaster” may not be what they’re accustomed to. The production lacks the stage and auditorium of a typical theater. Instead it’s a live immersive experience that takes place in Petterino’s banquet space in downtown Chicago. It’s a logical location for a presentation that takes place in a restaurant.
The Shenanigans
The show revolves around a catastrophic evening in which a hot new eatery is hosting some prominent social movers and shakers, and everything that could go wrong goes wrong. The restaurant, named the Contumacious Pig (the dictionary definition of “Contumacious” means “stubborn or willfully disobedient to authority), has become popular for its pork delicacies. So, of course, we know there’s going to be problems with the main pig course. Indeed, a pig arrives from Amazon, but it does not have a USDA stamp of approval, which will not go well with a health inspector.That, however, is just the beginning of the problems that unfold. The chef has called in sick, the sous chef is a nervous wreck, and since a health inspector drops in for a surprise visit, the non-USDA pig has to be hidden. Furthermore, there is lots of screaming, sounds of pots and pans banged and dropped, waiters running after a rat scurrying across the tile floor, food that has to be recalled, waiters yelling at each other, fire spewing flames in the kitchen, fights that break out between employees, a waitress who tries to seduce the owner, and a cook who doesn’t know how to cook. It’s all part of the laugh-filled disaster that could happen to any restaurant trying to impress food critics.
