Clyde’s, currently playing at the Bluma Appel Theatre, is so much more than a play about ex-cons making sandwiches. There are layers of meaning here that I’m only beginning to unpack. But let’s take a step back and summarize. Lynn Nottage’s play is set in the kitchen of a truck stop owned by Clyde; a woman with a short fuse, a sharp tongue and a thoroughly jjaundiced view of the human condition. The kitchen is led by the enigmatic Montrellous who seeks to create the perfect sandwich and is making progress. His calm enthusiasm captivates the three other ex-cons who work the kitchen and who aspire to meet Monty’s standard of sandwich excellence while coping with their fractured lives and keeping out of reach of Clyde’s wrath.
operaramblings 