If the recent success of The Bear has proven anything, (other than the fact that the world is crushing hard on Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri) it is that America has a deep, and perhaps macabre, fascination with the restaurant industry. With 1 in 3 Americans either working or having worked in a restaurant, it comes as no surprise that audiences are interested in the chaotic lives of chefs, cooks, servers, and bussers. Personally speaking, as both a server and performer, I was very intrigued to see the West Coast Premiere of La Cocina by the Loft Ensemble.
Written by Tony Menéses and directed by Loft Ensemble Artistic Director Adam Chambers, La Cocina is set back-of-house at an upscale New York restaurant and follows the chaos, challenges, and triumphs of the staff working there. With a new head chef, a host of no-call no-show employees due to a potential ICE raid, a rumored hate-crime and imminent layoffs on the horizon, tensions are particularly high and tempers particularly short for already overworked kitchen and serving staff.
Running just over an hour and a half with a 10-minute intermission, the show packs a punch with quick dialogue, strong characters, and non-stop action. In an era of three-and-a-half hour films and deep lower back pain, this choppy dramedy achieves a rare accomplishment: it leaves you wanting more.
The show is guided by a particularly strong directorial vision. Though the beautiful set design by Madylin Durrie is immediately eye-catching and realistic, Chambers wastes no part of the small space occupied by the resident Loft Ensemble. Actors move fluidly across the stage, through the aisle, and into the audience, immersing attendees in the chaos of a popular restaurant during a dinner shift. From lights up to lights down, the stage is always moving. Even transitional moments are filled with tight choreography and a dynamic and colorful lighting design by Tor Brown.
Though La Cocina skews towards “kitchen-sink” realism (pun-intended), the production literalizes the musicality of the kitchen. Though not a musical, La Cocina experiments with rhythm and heavily choreographed sequences to underscore key moments. From rapping incoming orders to an acoustic rendition of Radiohead’s “Creep” to snappy (literally) instances of unified movement, La Cocina is careful to remind the audience that they are watching theater. This stylistic choice does much to underscore one of the play’s several messages: the ability to make and consume art, especially as a professional, is a privilege, and one that comes with a certain degree of civic and social responsibility.
Though all working at the same restaurant, the cast and characters of La Cocina are generally divided into two camps: the working-class, multicultural back-of-house kitchen staff and the young, college-educated, aspiring-creatives front-of-house staff. The cast is uneven but generally strong. The plot affords its back-of-house characters much more time to develop, and stand-out performances include Paul L. Davis, Bree Pavey, Rose Scalish, and Leah Haile.
Ultimately, each character is undeniably interesting, and the actors are carefully immersed in the constant and consuming chaos of the kitchen. La Cocina is one of those shows that provides each audience member a unique experience, all depending on which of the concurrent performances, relationships, and reactions you happen to focus on at any given moment. 
Plot-wise, La Cocina borders on biting off more than it can chew. The cast is large, made up of 19 performers. To my surprise, the production is able to balance the large ensemble in a way that feels warranted. However, with so many characters on stage, the multi-layered plot occasionally becomes convoluted, and not all the introduced threads feel necessary or fully addressed. La Cocina shines brightest as a character study of the internal class divide within working restaurants, and ultimately, I would have preferred more time to digest this commentary.
Overall, La Cocina is a thoroughly entertaining and revealing production with much appeal for modern audiences. If you have not been lucky enough to work in a kitchen yourself, La Cocina provides a window into the chaotic inner life of the restaurants we interface with every day. And though the production may have a few less Emmys than The Bear, La Cocina makes the most of its unique edge: it is live, and YOU are right there in it.
La Cocina runs through February 11 at the Loft Ensemble, 11031 Camarillo Street in the North Hollywood Arts District. Showtimes are Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm and Sundays at 7:00 pm. General admission is Donate What You Want and seat reservations can be made here.
