Kitchen Witches’ Falls Flat

Two actresses stand on anearly vacant stage while trading comic jabs at each other. It’s not pretty,which is fine, but as a comedy it’s not particularly funny, either. WaukeshaCivic Theatre’s The Kitchen Witches isanother case of good talent and great potential trying to prop up a bad script.The winner of the 2005 Samuel French Canadian Play Contest, Caroline Smith’s The Kitchen Witches is light,inconsequential sitcom humor placed around an otherwise promising premise.

Cathy Marshall playsDolly Biddle, a TV chef for a cable access show that is put together by her sonStephen (played by Matthew Lovison). The show begins as the Biddles (aided by adisinterested tech intern played by Jennifer Meyer) are shooting the finalepisode of Dolly’s show. When a rival chef named Izzy (Denise Meagher) showsup, the two begin to argue in a semi-comic fashion, which prompts an offer forthe two to do a cooking show together. The initial animosity between the twoends predictably.

The production doesmanage to pull some charm out of the script, but can’t fully save a play withsuch weak humor. As one might expect, the argument between the two chefs getsphysical and inevitably involves some food, but the overall comic energy of theanimosity between Dolly and Izzy doesn’t pick up enough speed to create genuinehumor.

Waukesha Civic Theatre’sproduction of The Kitchen Witches runsthrough May 16 (at 264 W. Main St., Waukesha).