The word emerged, one supposes, because it is only in recent years that the task of taking restaurant reservations has become its very own specialization. Anthropologists might tell you that exceedingly specialized tasks are indicative of civilizations that are both highly advanced and sufficiently wealthy to allow such a narrowly defined range of productivity - like jade carvers in ancient China, perhaps. Of course, we can still enjoy the products of their artistry. There was not an iota of irony in that article, mind you - it was serious . One ponders, aside from long-standing concerns over the insipid journalism of the daily press in Baghdad by the Bay, just for whom these people are writing.
Real life overtakes satire.
One actor plays a reservationist, Sam, in a New York restaurant du jour , as well as all the callers on the telephone angling for a table, the maitre d'hotel, the chef, and assorted other peripheral characters. The clever script, a first outing by Becky Mode, actually manages to create fresh satire where self-satirization has already commanded the roost. After a while, in the tightly structured progress of the play, it's theme transcends the immediate time and place of the restaurant and the craving for the right table, and crystallizes into a metaphor for all the ways that people scheme to get what they want. It is not a pretty picture - but then good satire never is. The role of Sam is a demanding one, obviously, and, as well, a showcase for a young talent.