Love and regrets in "A Dish For The Gods"

"The Portrait of Dorian Grey" comes to mind, in which Dorian's youthfulness is dependent on his portrait's aging.

Kevin Cristaldi as Greg and Margot White as Julia in Victor L. Cahn's "A Dish For The Gods" in a Rachel Reiner Production at Theatre Row's Lion through October 5th. Photo by Jon Kandel.

In Victor L. Cahn's new play "A Dish For The Gods," at The Lion in Theatre Row through  October 5th, the balance of success is scaled so that the acolyte's career soars while her mentor's fails.

Julia (Margot White), invited to lecture on women writers, reminisces about her one great love, Greg (Kevin Cristaldi,) who nurtured her growing ambitions and interests as a writer and academic.

Remembering her first encounters with the charismatic Greg, she says "A lot of people assumed that his manic energy manifested some demon inside. Young women were especially prone to this judgment. Our pipeline also clarified that he was single and … how can I put this … energetic. As at least three women in our offices could testify personally."

Julia found with time that she blossomed into a world-renowned writer and lecturer under Greg's inspiration. But as she flourished, Greg floundered.

Margot White as Julia with Kevin Cristaldi as Greg in "A Dish For The Gods." Photo by Jon Kandel.

Director Adam Fitzgerald does Cahn's excellent play credit, seamlessly bringing the past into the present as Julia winds her tale of  love and loss. A simple set, designed by David Arsenault, serves the many venues "A Dish For The Gods" inhabits.

Margot White and Kevin Cristaldi are both excellent in this two hander. She tells her story so naturally that it feels as if it were ex-tempore. He gracefully swings from mood to mood, first the manic popular professor then the defeated drunk.

You will have no regrets seeing "A Dish For The Gods."

For more information about "A Dish For The Gods," visit www.RachelReiner.com, or www.theatrerow.org/. For tickets, go to www.Telecharge.com. At the box office, you may purchase the tickets for the bargain rate of $19.25.