Table 17 Reviews
Stage and Cinema- Recommended
"...Rendered with a rom-com frame around a night of emotional archaeology, Douglas Lyons's Table 17, briskly staged by Zhailon Levingston, wants to be irresistible, and for the most part it is. The premise is simple but well-served: two years after their breakup, previously engaged Jada (Gail Bean) and Dallas (Biko Eisen-Martin) reunite for part dinner date, part reckoning at Bianca's Restaurant, a slick, warmly lit bistro. The evening toggles between present discomfort and flashbacks to the relationship's slow detonation, all staged on Jason Sherwood's clever, two-level set that lets memory and reality bleed into each other. It's a compact 85-minute structure, but it gives the play enough room to explore what remains after the breakup dust settles."
Stage Scene LA- Highly Recommended
"...Audiences are invited to talk back to the exes who reunite at a trendy night spot to rehash the past and maybe, just possibly get back together in the MCC Theater production of Douglas Lyons' raucously funny off-Broadway hit Table 17, imported to L.A. by the Geffen Playhouse precisely when stressed-out Angelinos need it most."
LA Theatrix- Highly Recommended
"...Sometimes you just want good entertainment without any heavy messaging to weigh it down. Enter "Table 17," actor and playwright Douglas Lyons' rollicking romantic comedy set in a restaurant with tables on stage and no fourth wall. Thanks to dynamic acting, lighting and sound, "Table 17" keeps the audience laughing in sympathy and recognition at one couple who meet up after a breakup."
Stage Raw- Somewhat Recommended
"...Not that Douglas Lyons's play isn't a crowd pleaser. A comical pre-show announcement encourages attendees to freely and vocally express their reactions to the unfolding events. In a sort of modified call and response, the audience enthusiastically complies - cheering, booing, and calling out randomly as the occasion warrants."
Larchmont Buzz- Recommended
"...The show plays fast and loose with location and timeframe, and could have used a simpler set (by Jason Sherwood). This is a personal story, of two vulnerable people trying to find out if there’s a way forward. The strong cast and script don’t require the visual pyrotechnics of the extensive set. The many and varied costumes (by Devario D. Simmons), on the other hand, support the story in multiple ways, particularly for Jada."
Broadway World- Recommended
"...Not only can an audience sit in the audience of The Geffen Playhouse's Gil Cates Theatre to watch Douglas Lyons' romantic dramady unfold, but assorted guests can also take their place at tables on or adjacent to the stage, thereby putting themselves in the midst of the action. So they're in the restaurant where our lovebirds are trying to work it out two years after their breakup. Or in their bedrooms."