REVIEW: Cookin'(Nanta 난타)

Cookin‘ is a fun fantastical performance for the whole family!  The easiest way to explain it is if Stomp! took place in a yakiniku (Korean hibachi).  Set in a restaurant kitchen with four chefs (and a demanding maitre d) working on an increasingly tight deadline, the performers combine drumming, dancing, juggling, acrobatics, martial arts, and actual on-stage cooking, to create a rousing, audience-engaging spectacle on stage.  Come for the incredible knife skills, stay for the bulgogi flambé–this show is literally on fire! 🔥🔥 

This is an incredible, fast-paced, high-energy production with a dizzying array of talents on display.  The longest running show in Korea, Cookin’ has been an international hit since it took the best performance prize at the 1999 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  But you don’t have to take my word for it: my 9-year-old daughter raved, “Personally, as someone who loves to cook, it is so humors and grin-inducing, I would give Cookin’ a 10/10; I highly recommend!” This production is a delight for people of all ages, although the bright lights and loud sounds could be overwhelming for younger children or sensitive viewers.  The show runs from now through October 22, 2023 at the Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis.  Tickets are available at www.childrenstheatre.org.  Don’t miss it! 

Photo by Glen Stubbe