“Chapatti”

[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of “Chapatti” written by Christian O’Reilly, directed by Phil Scarpaci, starring Tim Simek and Rosanne Limeres, and running April 7-28 at Whitefire Theatre.

“Chapatti” is a love story. The love between a woman and her 19 cats, the love between a man and his dog, and the echos of the love he has for his wife, who passed a year before the setting of this story.  

The play’s ambling journey around grief, loneliness and purpose is perfectly aligned with the characters and the gentle premise of the story.  

The budding romance between Dan, with his beloved dog Chapatti, and Betty with her 19 cats, is gracefully and hilariously unfolded onstage for the audience, in all its minutia.  With both these beautiful characters narrating their daily realities, it’s easy to be mesmerized and transported to their little town and their little, poignant lives. As they talk us through their ups and downs we get to know them, as they get to know each other.

It’s an utterly charming play and one that’s been well loved since it was first published in 2014. It’s an Irish playwright and an Irish story, but it’s easily transposed to anywhere in the world.

Dan and Betty are truly universal people, a little passed middle aged and so gorgeously written that they seem like anyone lovely we may know. Familiar in the best possible sense. 

Dan’s wife passed away a while ago and it is Chapatti, a dog he found as a puppy while he was working construction and that he shared with his beloved wife that has kept him going.  But the desire to soldier on after his wife’s passing is waning and he is searching for a good home for his dog while he plans his ‘exit.’  Betty is a perpetual rescuer. Her 19 cats keep her busy and she also works as a caregiver for an elderly grumpy woman, who she obviously cares deeply for despite the grumpiness. 

“Chapatti” is full of moving, humorous and brilliantly written monologues.  Dan talks to us about his wife and the life they had together. How they used to laugh and laugh and how Chapatti would howl when they sang. A perfect family. Now torn asunder. Dan and Chapatti eking out their daily existence. Dan counting the days, the hours, the minutes.

Betty loves her cats, she tells us how desperate she is because the lady she cares for’s deeply loved elderly cat is missing and as she searches for it she worries that her lady won’t survive the loss. And yet, in the end, isn’t it remarkable what we can survive if we only allow ourselves to? 

This is a lovely, clever, moving play. But it demands, like most excellent pieces, a cast that can hold an audience in the palm of their hands. That can give not too much and not too little. That can take the words and make them real.  Time Simek and Rosanne Limeres are more than equal to the task.

In fact, they managed somehow to become the roles. Such is the magic of theatre. When the air between the stage and the audience hums and the distance between us diminishes and we feel utterly a part of a life that only exists for as long as the play does.

I was able to see “Chapatti” during its run at The Sherry in NoHo. I’m thankful that this wonderful production, deftly directed by Phil Scarpaci with a sweet sense of fragile humanity, has been extended to the Whitefire Theatre. A perfect venue for such a beguiling and rewarding play. 

I highly recommend it. “Chapatti” is an intimate and tender portrait of the ever-elusive connection between two souls is beautifully done. The best parts about being human are often found in our darkest moments when we save each other…

Tickets:

https://scarpacikelly-productions.ticketleap.com/chapatti/dates

When:

April 7 – 28, Fridays at 8pm

Where: 

The Whitefire Theatre

13500 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423