GBSC’s ‘Dinner for One’ is a very satisfying meal

By Rich Fahey

STONEHAM – For one local theatrical troupe, it’s a new day, a new season and, in many very important ways, a new home that has been extensively upgraded and modernized.

The Greater Boston Stage Company is beginning its 25^th anniversary season with “Dinner for One,” a 70-minute show adapted from a short film from 1963 that has become a New Year’s tradition throughout Europe.

It also serves as a showcase for the talents of two fine actors: Paul Melendy, whose comedic skills are sublime, and the equally talented Debra Wise, making her GBSC debut.

Melendy is James, a longtime, devoted butler for Wise as Miss Sophie, an elegant and refined older woman accustomed to giving orders and having her wishes fulfilled. Wise left her position as artistic director at the Central Square Theater in 2022, giving her more time to explore opportunities at area theaters.

Through the years, Miss Sophie has seen four good friends who were annual dinner guests celebrating her New Year’s Eve birthday party pass away, one by one.

To keep the tradition going, James is required to impersonate all four: Sir Toby, Admiral von Schneider, Mr. Pomeroy, and Mr. Winterbottom, as well as a long gone pet cat.

It’s all right in the wheelhouse of Melendy, a master of the manic, physically taxing pace this comedy requires. It’s as if he is the old time cartoon character Gumby, made of clay and able to  twist and turn himself into different shapes,  morphing from one second to the next into one of the four dinner guests,  each with a distinct voice, accent,  and manner of speaking. One character, Mr. Pomeroy, has Melendy channeling what sounds like a whiny, nasally early-career Jerry Lewis.

Over the course of the evening. James will serve not only the four courses –.mulligatawny soup, North Sea haddock, chicken and fruit – but also serve the four imaginary guests the drinks chosen by Miss Sophie (white wine, sherry, champagne and port wine for the respective courses), slipping into the role of each guest and drinking a toast to Miss Sophie four times for each course. The food comes to James via a window staffed by a white-gloved Mariah Ruben, assistant stage manager.

James will become increasingly intoxicated, upping the ante on the chaos – and the laughs.

Between each course, James asks Miss Sophie if he should follow “The same procedure as last year?” To which she replies: “Same procedure as every year.” 

The audience was invited to participate by answering a few simple questions on slips of paper provided by ushers, seeking information such as the title of their memoirs and the name of a sea creature.

They were collected and eventually ended up in the hands of Melendy; at key junctures, he fished out an answer from the bowl and a bit of improvisational dialogue broke out, causing the duo to hilariously, momentarily fall out of character.  

Music director Tim Goss and violinist Tommaso Lorenzen provide musical accompaniment and GBSC’s skilled designers set the tone, led by Katy Monthei’s impressively detailed set: Worn but sill elegant.

Director Weylin Symes said he was drawn to the play because it “feels like a love letter to the art of live performance, with element of classic vaudeville sketches and silent movies combined with live music, a bit of audience participation and a deep sense of nostalgia.”

Symes said you can almost imagine yourself back in the original Stoneham Theatre in 1917 when silent movies and vaudeville acts were all the rage.

GBSC pushed back the opening of its season a few months to finish up major upgrades to seating, lighting, and accessibility, creating what theater officials say is a more intimate and immersive environment for both performers and audiences.

The redesign, they say, maintains the historic charm of the building and features brand new seats available for dedication through the Buy A Seat campaign.

“Dinner For One” is great fun, a satisfying meal that won’t weigh you down. It’s a wild ride for two great pros.

The Greater Boston Stage Company production of “Dinner For One.” Written by Christina Baldwin, Sun Mee Chomet, and Jim Lichtscheidl. Directed by Weylin Symes. Scenic design by Katy Monthei. Lighting by Jeff Adelberg. Sound design by David Remedios. Costume design by Deidre Gerrard. At the Greater Boston Stage Company through Nov. 17. Greaterbostonstage.org.