Looking for a touching, comedic story to boost your spirits? Order up! Last week, “The Recipe,” a play centered around the life of celebrity chef Julia Child, premiered at La Jolla Playhouse. The script, written by two-time Tony nominee Claudia Shear, stars Christina Kirk and Norbert Leo Butz as Julia and Paul Child, respectively.
“The Recipe” spans Child’s carefree days at Smith College, her time devoted to serving the Office of Strategic Services during World War II, and her cooking training in Paris after the war. Child struggled as she searched for a passion throughout the show — a path that eventually led her to becoming the woman who introduced French cooking to America in the 1960s.
The set design immediately immersed me into Child’s world. Wheeled terraces slid out on stage when the characters lived in Paris, and a large wall of pots and pans descended when Child realized she wanted to be a chef. Multicolored lights reproduced the white glow of an office cubicle or reflected the romantic ambience with purple in France. The auditory effects immersed me in whatever country the characters visited, whether it was the recording of crickets chirping in the heat of Sri Lanka, or the background cries of “Fore!” on a Pasadena golf course.
The witty dialogue cast a lighthearted tone across both acts. Along with the rest of the packed theater, I found myself laughing out loud at quippy exchanges and the comical cultural differences between Child and her Parisian colleagues. The ensemble carried the humor in these moments when it flawlessly switched between American and French accents, depending on the characters the actors played. Because it was a small cast, many of the actors played multiple roles. Admittedly, I didn’t realize certain actors had changed parts at first, but once I caught on, the multipurpose cast added a level of chemistry between their characters.
Kirk delivered an outstanding performance; her emotions were raw and passionate, and I had a hard time believing that she wasn’t actually Julia Child. She nailed Child’s mannerisms of waving her arms while talking and leaning slightly backward when she stood, which were habits the real Julia Child was known for. Kirk’s delivery of a messy, outspoken woman reflected Child’s defiance of gender stereotypes as the first woman to host a TV cooking show.
It was refreshing to see a slightly awkward female heroine with no strict post-college plans and some self-consciousness about her 6-foot-2 stature. Child felt more realistic and relatable with her insecurities. I’ve become accustomed to the beautiful and smart female main character trope in past and present media, so it was a relief to see someone on stage who wasn’t so put together.
Only in its first few weeks of production, “The Recipe” has its flaws. Many scenes were set at her OSS job in Sri Lanka in order to to expound on the choices she made that guided her to a cooking career. However, I would have liked to see more details surrounding her first cooking lessons, recipe trial and errors, and her life after hosting a famous cooking show. More insight into that career would have rounded out her character and deepened the payoff of her hard work.
Still, I loved the underlying message of finding a creative outlet no matter your station in life. Child may be married and wealthy, but she is never content being a housewife. Instead, she finds a passion, commits to it, and fulfills her desire to create. Child’s determination despite her lack of experience proved to me that the most successful often begin as those who love the work.
Child’s creative journey deeply connected her with other people. Her character bonded with her husband through his support, and she made lifelong friends in Paris because she found a passion to pour her energy into. From moving past rejections to working abroad, Child changed. In the end, she was confident and mature, compared to the first act, when she simply wanted to party and “have a good time.” When we find something we love, we like ourselves better, too. “The Recipe” conveys that finding a creative gift is as much an outward journey as it is one of self-discovery.
