Café Utopia is a smart, serious, funny play about juice-bar workers and unionizing. It’s relevant directly to countless American workers, especially those who only in recent years have begun facing the question of whether to unionize. With an anti-union administration about to take power in Washington, this world premiere is also relevant for anyone who is part of the U.S. economy.
Playwright Gwen Kingston’s colorful characters and witty, insightful script animate for a new generation the ongoing story of the labor movement. Best of all, the show is a savagely entertaining gambol through the experiences of two generations of human cogs in a capitalist machine.
A Juice for All Seasons
Kingston also has a lot of fun spoofing trendy wellness fads. The action takes place in the flagship store of a juice bar chain in a college town. Café Utopia sells hilariously overpriced concoctions with names and options like “Banishing the Bluesberries Shaken Iced Tea” and immunity and personality boosters. They’re all whipped up in a chain-specific machine that figures importantly in the story.
College student Bex (a radiant Julia Atwood) is an enthusiastic new staffer being trained by Ari (a commanding Al Piper). Ari, a workaholic long-timer, uses their long hours of work at the juice bar as an escape from a psychologically abusive partner. Carefree Carlos (an utterly charming Louis Reyes McWilliams), a songwriter and aspiring rock musician, and Enzo (a silently hilarious Sergio Mauritz Ang), who spends most of his time in the stockroom, round out the crew. Overseeing these young folks is middle-aged Dee (a funny-serious layered turn by Kathleen Mary Carthy), a company lifer who manages the store and takes a personal interest in the lives and troubles of her staff.
Café Utopia: An Age of Enlightenment?
But are things really as warm and fuzzy as they seem? Café Utopia feels like an “enlightened” company, offering benefits like health insurance (for those who work a certain number of hours) and tuition assistance. Workplace policies seem employee-friendly. The staff is even excitedly preparing for a planned visit from the chain’s legendary founder.
But the store can’t seem to give Bex as many hours as she needs, despite a brisk trade. And Bex experiences a slow dawning that things at this oasis where “everyone is welcome” aren’t as benign as they seem.
When the intrusion of a union organizer fully awakens Bex to certain unfairnesses, conflicts arise. Ari, long settled in, and blinkered to some aspects of the situation, wants nothing to do with unionizing. In fact, Ari’s outburst when Bex starts to apply some pressure serves as the dramatic climax of this well-told, sharply acted tale.
But just as important is Dee’s unwrapping of the company’s true history, which makes clear that life and labor aren’t black-and-white, good-guys vs. bad guys. The play is no propaganda piece. It’s a complex and well-plotted fable and commentary on how economic strata affect real people, directed sympathetically and energetically by Ashely Olive Teague. Snappy humor enlivens it. Fantastical elements combine shiny new tech with steampunk (any play with a pneumatic tube is all right by me!) on Calypso Michelet’s bubbly-bright set. Characters with depth, and surprising plot revelations, including one completely unexpected twist, make it gripping.
Shanti!
Café Utopia, from the Notch Theatre Company, runs through November 23, 2024 at the Hudson Guild Theater, on West 26th St. in Manhattan. It’s 90 minutes, with a brief audience participation segment in lieu of an intermission, so be prepared to greet your neighbors and to speak up if you wish. Tickets are available via the Notch website, and are free for union members presenting their membership card at the door.
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