CLYDE'S at MOXIE Theatre

Welcome to CLYDE’S, where the art of making a sandwich can lead to enlightenment. Staffed by formerly incarcerated people trying to rebuild their lives, but run by someone who has no real internet in food, or their employees beyond making the sale, this play has something to say about the work to build a better life, self-respect, and of course, the perfect sandwich. CLYDE’S is playing at MOXIE Theatre through March 10th.

Clyde’s, a truck stop sandwich shop somewhere in Pennsylvania, is designed to make sandwiches and draw no notice, the owner Clyde (Tanya Alexander) is a tough-as-nails boss who specifically hires ex-cons because she knows they don’t have much choice.

Montrellous (DeAndrea Simmons) leads the kitchen team, teaching them the way to build a better life along with a better sandwich. Rafael (Marcel Ferrin), and Letitia (Deja Fields) have been in the kitchen for a while, soaking up his wisdom and encouragement, when Jason (Justin Lang) arrives covered in racist tattoos and who is resistant to following the rules of the kitchen or sandwiches.

Montrellous is the sandwich shaman - giving life and recipe advice, asking people to believe in themselves, and their dreams, and to find and build safety in their lives. Clyde is cool, and dangerously detached from the feelings or lives of her employees, other than the power she holds over them knowing they need this job. She owes money to some people even meaner than she is, so she is uninterested in sandwiches beyond what she can make selling them.

If Simmon’s Montrellous is the luxurious and inspirational delicious part of the sandwich, the avocado, the luxurious cheese, the oven-roasted tomato - whatever the ingredient that makes you swoon, then Alexander’s Clyde is the necessary acidic tang to balance it out.

The three chefs are all fighting for harmony in their lives and to figure out where they now belong. While the job is not ideal, the love and care they get from Montellous help them each grapple with their lives outside of prison and try to avoid building themselves into a self-imposed prison based on their best intentions or the inability to change.

It’s the attention to detail and pacing created by director Delicia Turner Sonnenberg that allows this dramedy to serve up laughs and food for thought at the same time.

Designed by Michael Wogulis, the kitchen where everything takes place could be a commercial kitchen, and the setup details and prep stations feel authentic enough that you might be tempted to order a sandwich yourself.

Ensure you eat before you see this show, as the characters frequently describe ideal sandwich combinations. If not, you may find yourself with a sandwich in hand before you know it.