Brunch, a new play by local actor, director, and playwright Elliot Weiner, tells the story of three friends; three friends with a long-standing tradition of monthly brunch together, interrupted by a sequence of new additions, ranging from a pregnant girlfriend to a psychiatrist. ...

Now here's the trouble with the play: That premise is almost completely missing from the entire first act. Viewers fortunate enough to have read the show's promotional posters are well equipped to follow along, but anyone else - presumably the bulk of the walk-in audience - is given the impression this is an arbitrary six friends on an arbitrary morning, who have arbitrarily decided to dine together.

Brunch has its strengths. The two characters that could easily be the leads - if the play had leads - are both excellent. Bryan Bender portrays MENSA-gifted, clean-freak Arthur to perfection. Similarly, Arthur's romantic interest of sorts, the ditzy-and-a-half, accidentally pregnant, future weather-girl Tamara is laid out to perfection by Jefri Peters. The dynamic between these two parents-to-be is the source of much entertainment. Were director Naarah McDonald tasked with a solidly-written romantic comedy starring these two, she would be golden.

Read the full review here.

Brunch

through June 27, 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, $15
Tacoma Little Theatre, 210 North I Street, Tacoma
253.272.2281