My cousin, Oysy, and a "Fat Pig" = My Friday night

My cousin and I had a "date" on Friday. We started out at Oysy for tasty, inventive sushi. Oysy is one of my fave sushi joints, second only to Tsunami on Dearborn. They have a terrific selection of speciality makis. One of the highlights of our meal was the Rainbow Dragon, which consisted of salmon, tuna, super white tuna, eel, ebi, shrimp tempura, masago, cucumber, chili tobiko, wasabi tobiko, black tobiko, avocado, and mayo. Whew! It came "snaking" out to our table, complete with a little dragon face.

After dinner, we headed up LSD to Uptown for the next part of our evening: Fat Pig. Say What? Fat Pig is a play, a Neil LaBute play, which makes its Midwest debut at the Profiles Theatre. I have been excited to see Fat Pig since I read about the off Broadway debut last year. Neil LaBute's work is so honest and emotional without turning into a made for tv movie. I saw the movie version of The Shape of Things, which starred the original cast from the play. Instantly I was drawn to Neil LaBute's ability to capture the truths of relationships. He just gets it.

The following is a sumary of Fat Pig, from the Profiles Theatre website...

"FAT PIG is Neil LaBute's award-winning and bitingly funny romance about love in the modern age of body image and peer pressure. Tom is a young career guy who hits it off with Helen, a bright, sexy woman who happens to be plus-sized - and then some. As he reluctantly finds himself falling in love with Helen, Tom's colleagues are brutally cruel in their assessment of his new mate. LaBute probes our carb-counting, extreme makeover nation by asking tough questions. How much has our relentless pursuit of beauty turned us into an uglier species?"

Fat Pig did not disappoint at all. It was funny and sad and honest, without being trite. The cast at Profiles was incredibly compelling, as if these parts were written specifically for them. Also the venue itself is amazingly intimate (50 seats!). It was the perfect environment to see this play. I would highly recommend taking in this play if you get a chance. The theatre is located on Broadway north of Irving Park.

Now I must get back to watching the Gator game. Go Gators!

P.S. Did anyone here the tornado sirens downtown on Friday night? My cousin and I were on our way to dinner when we heard it. I had no clue what it was at first. My cousin had to clue me in. Pretty freaking scary!!