A French refugee is taken in by a pair of elderly sisters. She wants to show her thanks for them by cooking them a huge feast in honor of the 100th anniversary of their late father. It’s a really nice gesture and everything, but there’s a catch. The sisters in question have an austere lifestyle. They can’t partake in lavish feasts. Food is for nourishment only.
It’s a basic cultural misunderstanding that makes for an interesting story. The Isak Dinesen story was adapted into the independent film Babette’s Feast in 1987. This month, Acacia Theatre stages its adaptation of the play.
In a press release, ensemble member Philip Birdener describes it like this:
“Babette is interesting because here she's lost so much, and she finally expresses how much she misses the past and her place in it, after years of living under the roof of the two sisters who'd taken her in. And yet, she's chosen to give up the one last chance she gets at possibly going back to devote everything to these two who have helped her. This is her home now, and it's more than a mere acceptance of the fact; it's a conscious choice to stay and to continue to serve.”
“I find it interesting that in a community on the verge of celebrating the hundredth birthday of someone they loved and respected so much, it is one of the outsiders who comes in to open their eyes to a more fruitful interpretation of giving and grace,” adds Birdener.
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Acacia Theatre’s production of Babette’s Feast runs March 16TH -25TH in Concordia University’s Todd Wehr Auditorium. For ticket reservations, call 414-744-5995 or visit Acacia online.
