Table 17
Table 17 is a comedic stage play by American playwright Douglas Lyons about two exes reuniting on a dinner date to hash out their past. The play premiered in 2024 Off-Broadway at MCC Theatre, and made its West Coast debut in 2025 in Los Angeles at the Geffen Playhouse.
Plot
The play follows a previously engaged couple, Jada and Dallas, who decide to meet up at the upscale Bianca's Restaurant after two years apart and work to hash out their romantic past and issues. The show flashes between the present-day dinner date and their time as fiancés two years prior.
Production history
2024 Off-Broadway premiere
The play made its world premiere in 2024 Off-Broadway at MCC Theatre, directed by Zhailon Levingston and starring Biko Eisen-Martin as Dallas, Kara Young as Jada, and Michael Rishawn as River/Eric., The production opened on September 6, 2024, and ran through September 29, 2024 and received generally positive reviews. The New York Times called it "alluringly designed" and "a romp," specifically praising Young's "extraordinary charm." New York Theatre Guide similarly lauded the production, praising "the honesty and the wittiness of the writing hook" and also singling out Young's performance as "overflowing with both fierceness and insecurity."
The production was nominated for two Outer Critics Circle Awards, winning for Rishawn, a Drama Desk Award for Rishawn and four Lucille Lortel Awards, winning for both Young and Rishawn.
2025 Los Angeles production
The play then made its West Coast premiere in 2025 at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, California, again directed by Levingston. Eiko-Martin and Rishawn both reprised their roles, with Gail Bean replacing Young as Jada. The production ran from November 5 to December 11, 2025. The LA Sentintel positively reviews the production as "a meditation on forgiveness, communication, and what remains after love has evolved", and Stage and Cinema lauded it as "briskly staged" and praised the actors' chemistry.
Cast and characters
Character |
Off-Broadway 2024 |
Los Angeles 2025 |
|---|---|---|
Dallas |
Biko Eisen-Martin |
|
Jada |
Kara Young |
Gail Bean |
River, Eric & Others |
Michael Rishawn |
|
Awards and nominations
2024 Off-Broadway production
Year |
Award |
Category |
Work |
Result |
Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2025 |
Drama Desk Award |
Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play |
Michael Rishawn |
||
Outer Critics Circle Award |
Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play |
||||
Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Play |
Michael Rishawn |
||||
Drama League Award |
Distinguished Performance |
Kara Young |
|||
Lucille Lortel Award |
Outstanding Director |
Zhailon Levingston |
|||
Outstanding Lead Performer in a Play |
Kara Young |
||||
Outstanding Featured Performer in a Play |
Michael Rishawn |
||||
Outstanding Lighting Design |
Ben Stanton |
||||