SUNDAY DINNER ☆☆☆☆
Theatre 40

Walking up to Theatre 40 which is tucked in to Beverly Hills High School to see writer and director Tony Blake’s Sunday Dinner makes you feel like you are in an episode of 90210. It is quintessential Beverly Hills and we were all the way there for it.

The play begins and immediately we are introduced to the main character, Michael, aunt (Michele Schultz) and mother (Sharron Shayne) duo. They are witty and relatable and instantly you feel connected to their family. As they prepare for Sunday Dinner their conversation goes just as you may expect of Italian American women, one particularly proud of her son Michael ((James Tabeek)), the priest.

Little do they know this will be the dinner of revelations and we are not referencing the Bible; These reveals are hardly holy honey. The family is put to the test as one thing after another comes out, if you will, and secrets are divulged. Blow after blow; Michael being outed was a noteworthy scene and we think most gays would be empathetic.

Michael’s father, Eddie (John Combs), his brother Flip (Dennis Hadley) and Flip’s super adorable ex-wife Diane (Meghan Lloyd) all have their own drama to add to the mix. Not so divine confessions, betrayals and unfaithfulness are all on this Sunday’s menu. By the time you’re well into the play however you realize that at least a small part everyone’s family is somewhere on that stage, able to understand and sympathize with their issues somehow.

We absolutely loved Sunday Dinner and left wondering what was next for Michael and his cute cousin Richie (Kevin Linehan)! To be continued perhaps?

https://theatre40.org/  Until Feb 20th 2020 

Reviewed by John Guillot & Juan Salas 

John Guillot & Juan Salas left the bright lights of Miami for the even brighter ones of L.A.   As ‘virgins’ to the city they have joined the QUEERGURU team to bring a fresh perspective to everything  queer that matters in their new home town