I was really very hungry: A Portrait of MFK Fisher

I was really very hungry: A Portrait of MFK Fisher
Monday July 11 at 6:30 PM

Experience this theatrical portrait of famous food writer MFK Fisher presented as a staged reading by LiveBait Theater, adapted and directed by Kelly Nespor. The evening starts with an introduction by Joan Reardon, biographer of MFK Fisher. Meanwhile, Chef Linda Rosner and Chef Jenny Lewis and their Lexington College students create a tasting menu inspired by the readings.

Admission: $30.

Claudia Cassidy Theater
Chicago Cultural Center
77 E. Randolph Street
Chicago

FWIW: Mrs. Barolo created this piece for Live Bait Theater some 10 years ago, and owing to a death in the family of one of the actors, I will be appearing in the reading on 11th.

HI,

I'll be in the audience, I hope we can meet.

Regards,

HI,

The ticket to the play I was really very hungry: A Portrait of MFK Fisher was a mere $30, however there was quite a bit of hidden value.

I understood the play to start at 6:30 PM, I breathlessly arrived at 6:10 PM only to learn a tasting begins at 6:30 and the play at 7:15. The tasting included the following:

- Fine salad greens with boiled potatoes, olives and smoked trout dressed in Balsamic vinaigrette
- French bread with your choice of pate with truffles, a country pate and several different dried sausages
- Avocado salad
- Roast beef sandwich
- Ham and cheese sandwich
- Blue cheese puffs
- Escargot in garlic butter
- Red and white wines, designer water and soda

Each course was selected from vague references in MFK Fisher’s books and were favorites of hers or of friends and family. I overheard one of the chef’s explain MFK Fisher didn’t so much write recipes but made reference to them. So rather than precise recipes she may have enjoyed, they were interpretations based on likely recipes.

Joan Reardon who recently wrote Poet of the Appetites : The Lives and Loves of M.F.K. Fisher was present to talk to and autograph her books. She will be speaking to the Chicago Foodways Roundtable in September, so it was nice to reconnect with her once again.

I overheard a gentleman talking theater shop talk and hoped he may be our Mrbarolo. Unfortunately it wasn’t, though he was the Artistic Director (I think) of Live Bait Theater. I told him I knew of Mrbarolo from food chat websites but had never been present for his work. I learned there is a second opportunity to see Mrbarolo in this series ‘Play with your Food,’ in the Jeff awarded play ‘Blind Tasting’ on September 8th, which I will post later as a separate Event post.

At 7:15 as people arrived there were slides from MFK Fisher’s family scrapbook. Around 7:30 Joan Reardon conducted a brief lecture and slide show on MFK Fisher’s life, which was essentially a synopsis of the play. Joan Reardon commented how late in life MFK Fisher encouraged women to go into the culinary field. She thought she would be pleased the meal this evening had been prepared by the all-women Lexington College culinary students.

Close to 8 PM the play commenced, which was about MFK Fisher’s second marriage. At the intermission, they served wine, coffee, soft drinks, two kinds of chocolate cake and an apple tart. Sadly most of the audience did not return for the remainder, which concluded just after 10 PM. Where I might have lingered and attempted to introduce myself to Mrbarolo, I needed to hightail it to the train.

For $30., I felt I had quite a brilliant evening of food and thought.

‘Play with your Food’ series is yet another great offering from Chicago Tourism’s ‘Stirring Things Up’ summer program with a culinary emphasis.

Regards,

Mfk, a cafe and bar and named for food writer M.F.K. Fisher, opened last week.

The 700-square-foot restaurant, sandwiched between Lakeview and Lincoln Park, is headed by husband and wife Scott Worsham and Sari Zernich Worsham, who met while working with Chicago chef Art Smith at his Art & Soul restaurant in Washington.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/ ... f-k-fisher

Thank you for sharing this, Cathy. It sounds like a divine evening!

mamagotcha wrote:Thank you for sharing this, Cathy. It sounds like a divine evening!

HI,

Thanks!

I had to dig back in the memory about this evening, because it was nine years ago. It was actors reading in front of a curtain with no other props.

Regards,