How does one bring together a room full of people who have never met before, whose varying ages span generations and have little in common?
Simple — feed them.
Peggy Sweeny-McDonald and her business partner Jay Basist took things a step further and created a unique dinner theater event called “Meanwhile, Back at Cafe Du Monde …” where local personalities share their stories with an audience in the form of short monologues over a hot meal and a cup of coffee.
The show, which premiered in Baton Rouge in May, combines theater, culture and cuisine into what Basist calls “reality theater” because the performers share real stories.
The cast is an ever-changing mix of people. Chefs, entrepreneurs and students have all taken the stage.
Sweeny-McDonald first thought of the idea for the event after hearing a story from a friend about a Thanksgiving dinner mishap.
The story was so funny that Sweeny-McDonald insisted her friend share the story with other mutual friends. She noticed that when the story was shared it often prompted others to share stories, all centered on food.
That observation sparked an idea for a monologue show celebrating food, but instead of a traditional theater event, Sweeny-McDonald wanted her show to feel as conversational and comfortable as she felt during the conversations that prompted the idea.
Even the show’s title reflects the theme of comfortable conversation.
“Cafe Du Monde is a metaphor for that place you always go to,” Sweeny-McDonald said. “It’s about that place and that story that you always go back to.”
Sweeny-McDonald approached Basist about creating the event under their company, Superstar Events-LA, and together they started working on getting the idea off the ground.
“At first we got a cool reception because people didn’t know what to think of it,” Basist said. “But the more people we talked to, the more people were interested.”
Since the show’s premiere, it has been performed in New Orleans, Los Angeles, Shreveport and Lafayette.
Sweeny-McDonald is also taking “Meanwhile, Back at Cafe Du Monde …” beyond the stage with plans for a coffee table book and a TV pilot.
Basist said the coffee table book will combine a printed version of a performer’s monologue with a photo montage of the performer. The book may also include favorite recipes from each featured performer.
The TV show will travel to different locations and feature local personalities speaking in their own food havens, and the pilot episode will feature Kleinpeter Dairy owner Jeff Kleinpeter, local food blogger Jay Ducote and others, according to Sweeny-McDonald.
The headliners change for each show, and Raising Cane’s owner Todd Graves, Louisiana Radio Network general manager Jim Engster and many other local celebrities have performed.
Ducote, University alumnus and author of the food blog Bite and Booze, has performed on three occasions.
Ducote heard about “Meanwhile, Back at Cafe Du Monde …” from a friend who performed at an earlier show, and Sweeny-McDonald asked him to perform after discovering he authored a food blog.
“I enjoy getting up there and telling my story,” Ducote said. “What I try to do through my food blog is tell stories related to food, and this gives me a chance to verbalize my story instead writing it down.”
Several University students are on the list of frequent performers at the show.
Mass communication junior Hannah Blomquist has performed her monologue “Oh the Places We Go” for four shows.
Blomquist said the show’s intimate atmosphere is what keeps her coming back as a performer.
“You’re very involved with the audience,” she said. “Everyone eats, and everyone has their own little stories. And it’s fun to be able to interact with people and see them relating to your story.”
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Contact Andrew Price at [email protected]