Review: SECRET SUPPER: THE MUSICAL Takes A Meta Look At Attending Social Events

Being an old hand at attending immersive theatre in non-traditional spaces, I didn't think there was anything unusually about not being given the exact address for SECRET SUPPER: THE MUSICAL until an email showed up the morning of the performance.

It instructed me to arrive at a side entrance of the unfinished Africa Center on Fifth Avenue at the northeast tip of Central Park, cautioning that this is a "raw space" with no heat. When I arrived, the portable toilet facilities on the street made it clear that there was something else the raw space lacked.

But free cocktails help warm up a chilly November evening and the gin martini I enjoyed was tasty. My guest and I were advised to hold onto our glasses if we wanted refills and we concluded there was no running water either.

As the numbers grew during cocktail half-hour, the chatter was interrupted when a fellow claiming to be the coat check attendant made an announcement warning everyone about leaving valuables in their coats. As an example, he pulled a plastic bag containing a live goldfish out of the pocket of what would be assumed to be an audience member's jacket. The bit might have landed better if it wasn't apparent that just about everyone in the audience opted to skip the coat check. It seemed like everyone, including the actors, remained bundled up for the entire three hour-long production.

After some conversation with fellow guests (and a couple of actors pretending to be fellow guests) we learned that just about everyone there was a member of the Spring Street Social Society, a private club whose members are invited to their events via email. Some come with friends, some come looking to meet new people and some come to discover parts of the city they've never been to.

The clever concept by bookwriter T. Adamson and composers Alex Thrailkill and Jeanna Phillips (the program credits no one for the lyrics) involves five character who are themselves attending a Spring Street Social Society event and their songs and conversations may reflect the experiences of those watching.

The show is so meta that the characters have the same names as the actors playing them. Molly McAdoo is a new mom who's too busy for a night out and needs to force herself to go have some fun. Terribly shy Ronald Peet is at his first event and is pretty much keeping to himself. Emma Tattenbaum-Fine is a gregarious actor who craves being the center of attention and Preston Martin is a self-professed cultural icon who is just too above anything. Event regular Audrey Hailes is the perceptive voice of reason.

With the audience seated family style at several long tables, director Andrew Neisler seats the actors at elevated places around the perimeter. As they talk across the room to each other, it becomes evident that we're supposed to imagine them as strangers who are actually seated in a group.

After a failed attempt at an icebreaker involving going around the room and announcing your favorite ice cream flavor, the conversation segues in many directions, prompting pop rock songs on a eclectic mix of subjects (air travel, ice skating, really good berries, that guy on the subway who always sings "Under The Boardwalk") played by music director Thrailkill's band perched above the proceedings.

But the main subject seems to be the combination of excitement and anxiety that goes with throwing yourself into a social situation.

There are several breaks in the show while food is being served, which might provide opportunities for guests to chat among themselves about the topics brought up in the show.

While the lack of a linear plot makes the evening drag a bit, the talented company pulls it off with panache, making SECRET SUPPER: THE MUSICAL pleasantly entertaining.

As far as the dinner was concerned, the old show business adage "Always leave 'em wanting more" comes to mind.

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