BWW Reviews: I'LL EAT YOU LAST at GableStage

You want acerbic? You want dish? You want shallow? You know you want the awful truth about Steve McQueen. A little dirt on Barbra Streisand? Julie Harris? And more? Well, hustle on over to Joe Adler's GableStage in the Biltmore Hotel and treat yourself to ninety minutes of brilliant writing, directing and acting. Thank John Logan for the script, Michael Leeds for the direction and, wait for it, Laura Turnbull for the acting.

Ah, Laura Turnbull. She is Sue Mengers, fabled Hollywood talent agent of the 70's, lounging on the rich couch in her luxurious home in Beverley Hills. Behind her, huge windows show Los Angeles. She breaks the fourth wall and smirking, cursing and smoking, tells us we can have a few minutes of her time before her A list movie star guests arrive for one of her renowned parties.

She takes us through her early life: A German refugee at five in 1938, struggling to lose her accent, starting as a receptionist at MCA, then pushing, charming and lying her way through other agencies until she is the first female Super Agent of Hollywood. Her bawdy wit her strong point, Mengers signs Michael Caine, Gene Hackman, Robert Redford, Nick Nolte, Cher, Joan Collins, Faye Dunaway; the list goes on.

She moves constantly throughout the show, but never off the couch. She fidgets, twist, turns, smokes incessantly and more often than not sucks on a joint held in a delicate roach clip. And all the while she spouts an endless stream of obscenities around the flow of gossipy tales of her clients, past and present.

Her telephone has second billing, never out of her sight or touch. She's waiting for a call from Streisand. Her oldest friend.

Turnbull disappears into Sue Mengers. Her accents, her improvs, her gestures. She tells us of her successes and shows us her decline. Laura Turnbull is marvelous.

Lyle Baskin designed the beautiful set, Jeff Quinn the lighting (the lights of LA out the windows as daylight fades), Matt Corey the sound and George Wentzler the video design.

I'LL EAT YOU LAST runs through August 30 at GableStage at the Biltmore, 1200 Anastasia Avenue, Coral Gables. 305-445-1119 http://www.gablestage.org

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