Love and food come together, for better or worse

Written by Joanne Greco Rochman
Thursday, 05 July 2012 10:55

Antoinette LaVecchia in the TheaterWorks Hartford production of ‘I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti.’ —Lanny Nagler photoIn Jacques Lamarre’s adaptation of “I Loved, I lost, I Made Spaghetti,” at TheaterWorks, Hartford, based on the memoir of the same title by Giulia Melucci, it is the on-stage cooking that puts this production over the edge into “hitdom.” 

Not having read the book, it’s hard to say if Lamarre’s adaptation is spot on, but it certainly flows seamlessly. It flows as smoothly as a well coordinated and perfectly timed dinner. 

A lot of elements came together for this production, including that Lamarre has a great sense of humor and a natural wit of his own. He picked the right book to adapt. Next you have Rob Ruggiero as the director. Ruggiero is to theater what a five-star chef is to fine restaurant. Add to this set designer John Coyne’s creation of an attractive, efficient, real working kitchen, and so far all the elements are layered neatly like a lasagna. Each layer deliciously seasoned. Of course, the main ingredient for this show must be just right.

That leads us to Antoinette LaVecchia, an actress who makes an Italian sauce in the first act, along with an antipasto and a salad. She also prepares dough with flour and eggs for her homemade pasta. In the second act, she puts the dough through the pasta machine. She does all this without forgetting a line or an ingredient. She makes this dinner and even serves it to theater-goers who opt for several dinner tables set up in front of the stage. You have to give credit where credit is due. LaVecchia is absolutely perfect for this role.

While everything comes together, the play does drag along here and there, especially in the first act. It also gets a bit tedious as the character Giulia bemoans her failed love relationships. Without the dinner preparations, it would be too tedious to bear. And some of her lovers were so weird (one even considers a spoon a dear friend), that it does seem a bit farfetched to the point of being ridiculous.

Indeed, the cooking on stage makes the show fascinating. The descriptions of all her Italian meals that were served to lovers long gone are enough to make the audience rush off to the nearest Italian restaurant for a hefty helping of homemade pasta. 

Kudos to LaVecchia and the entire cast and crew for a most entertaining theater experience. The production runs through July 14. Box office: 860-527-7838.