“I’ll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers” show #815

Never have I ever been so enthralled with a one-woman performance that serves as both theatrical entertainment and a Hollywood history lesson than I was with Deborah Joves in John Logan’s play, I’ll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers. Joves needs little more than a couch, a glass of bourbon, and a flamboyant demeanor to serve up insults and anecdotes of who the infamous Sue Mengers represented, didn’t represent, and who she may have done, well, other things with. Set in the beautiful backdrop of Half Moon Bay’s coastal sunset, I’ll Eat You Last… will delight audiences with its aplomb.

Joves does one of the few things Logan’s script doesn’t do, which is make the audience sympathize with the jarring, foul-mouthed, foul-mood agent, Sue Mengers. Joves actually finds the time, under the astute direction Paul Smith, to let the audience in with carefully calibrated turns of sadness or regret. These choice moments give foundation to the majority of the one-liners, hair tosses, and bourbon gulps. Joves brings the audience into Doug McCurdy’s wonderfully designed set, full of pinks and light colors which shine well under Chris Kammeyer’s lighting and the sunset sky of Half Moon Bay. The list of personalities from Hollywood lore drive the monologue and Joves’ knack for comedic timing and physical comfortability make this show a stellar in-person experience for coastal audiences.

I’ll Eat You Last… runs through May 2nd, and tickets may be purchased at www.coastalrep.com. COVID protocols are all listed on the website so do look those over before heading over for some wine and an evening with Sue Mengers. Go see this show!