IT'S
TRUE
THAT
in
love
opposites
often
do
attract,
but
when
that
difference
is
a
disparity
in
hotness
can
romance
possibly
prevail?
With
“Fat
Pig,”
famed
playwright
Neil
LaBute
(though
probably
more
famous
for
the
movie
versions
of
"In
the
Company
of
Men"
and
"Your
Friends
&
Neighbors")
explores
that
query
when
Tom
(Tyler
Pierce),
an
in-shape,
calorie-counting
young
professional
falls
hard
for
Helen
(Kate
Debelack),
a
very
overweight
young
librarian.
Though
not
entirely
unpredictable,
LaBute’s
conclusions
are
drawn
with
a
mixture
of
evil
humor
and
uneasy
poignancy
in
his
2004
off-Broadway
hit
now
making
its
regional
premiere
as
part
of
Studio
Theatre’s
“LaBute
Festival.”
The
pair
meet
cute
in
a
crowded
restaurant.
Working
on
her
third
slice
of
pizza,
Helen
offers
Tom
a
spot
at
her
café
table.
She
flirts
and
teases
about
his
light
lunch.
Tom
is
intrigued
by
this
game
and
seemingly
comfortable
woman.
Overlooking
her
girth,
he
asks
to
see
her
again.
A
budding
friendship
grows
into
a
dating
situation.
From
the
start,
Helen
requests
that
Tom
be
truthful
with
her.
Together
the
couple
acknowledge
that
Tom
is
a
work
in
progress,
and
in
areas
of
honesty
and
forthrightness,
he
needs
improvement:
not
too
auspicious
a
beginning.
SMARTLY
DIRECTED
BY
Paul
Mullins,
this
intensely
interesting
90-minute
play
unfolds
as
a
series
of
scenes
alternating
between
moments
in
Tom’s
modern,
hard-edged
office
(designed
by
Debra
Booth)
and
his
dates
with
Helen
(a
sushi
restaurant,
her
bed),
culminating
with
a
company
beach
party.
At
work
Tom
spars
with
wise-ass
pal
Carter
(Jason
Odell
Williams),
an
avowed
"hefty
hater"
to
the
core.
Despite
(or
probably
because)
an
expressed
regret
for
having
been
unkind
to
his
own
fat
mother
of
whom
he
was
ashamed,
Carter
is
merciless
when
it
comes
to
Helen.
Like
Anita
to
Maria
in
“West
Side
Story,”
Carter
strongly
advises
Tom
to
stick
to
his
own
kind
—
in
other
words,
a
girl
who
doesn’t
sport
plus
sizes.
According
to
Carter’s
well
thought
out
philosophy,
fat
women
date
fat
and/or
bald
men.
A
young,
successful
guy
with
a
full
mane
of
dark
hair
and
a
flat
stomach
like
Tom
would
be
foolish
to
lavish
his
charms
on
a
big
girl
like
Helen,
no
matter
how
sweet
her
disposition.
Ever
the
instigator,
sadistic
Carter
sweet
talks
a
photo
of
Helen
out
of
Tom’s
hand
and
disseminates
it
throughout
the
office.
With
the
identity
of
his
mystery
woman
out,
Tom
says
he
cares
for
Helen
and
isn’t
interested
in
what
his
peers
think.
MORE
HOSTILITY
AT
the
office
comes
from
the
slim
blonde
and
scorned
person
of
Jeannie
(Anne
Bowles),
Tom’s
very
recent
ex
who
toils
just
down
the
hall
in
accounting.
In
frequent
angry
visits
to
Tom’s
desk,
Jeannie
loudly
relays
her
dismay
that
he
would
prefer
a
“fat
bitch”
to
her,
and
goes
so
far
as
to
suggest
that
Tom
is
simply
seeing
Helen
to
be
offensive
to
her.
As
Helen
and
Tom
continue
to
date,
mostly
spending
time
at
her
place
having
sex
and
watching
war
movies,
she
begins
to
feel
isolated,
suspicious
that
Tom
is
hiding
their
relationship
from
the
world.
Her
self-possessed
posture
is
slowly
folding.
In
the
title
role,
Debelack
is
excellent.
Her
pleading
eyes
and
eager-to-please
smile
belie
her
character’s
confident
air.
The
rest
of
the
cast
is
equally
good.
In
the
final
heart
wrenching,
well-acted
scene
on
the
beach,
Helen
is
especially
vulnerable.
Clad
in
a
carefully
chosen
red
bandanna-patterned
one
piece,
her
size
is
made
abundantly
clear.
It’s
uncomfortable
to
see
her
compared
to
the
fit
Tom
and
Jeannie.
Slowly
but
surely,
the
audience
knows
what’s
coming.
It’s
here,
of
all
places,
where
Tom
finally
decides
to
get
honest.
While
the
play
deals
with
a
heterosexual
relationship,
easy
parallels
are
drawn
between
size
issues
in
the
rest
of
society,
including
the
notoriously
body-conscious
gay
community.
