'Don't Dress for Dinner' - A Real Hoot!

What happens to a person’s psyche when having to keep up multiple personas? What are the consequences of a lie? These are questions you probably won’t find yourself pondering while watching “Don’t Dress for Dinner,”–you’ll be too busy laughing at its absurdity. Through a convoluted evening of secrets, revenge, a touch of incest, and enough dramatic irony to flood an abandoned pool, director Clinton Vidal has put together a hilariously theatrical show at the Benicia Old Town Theatre Group.

“Don’t Dress for Dinner,” a farce written by French playwright Marc Camelotti, follows an evening between a wife, a husband, a mistress, a lover, and a cook, none of whom ever truly understand the dynamics of the situation. The husband Bernard (Scott Poitras) is planning a weekend with his mistress Suzanne (Callie Heyer) because his wife Jacqueline (Natalie Hardt) is heading to her mother’s. But on hearing that her secret lover and Bernard’s good friend Robert (Chuck Schilling) is visiting for the weekend, Jacqueline decides to stay. This causes Bernard a good deal of panic, so he convinces Robert to pretend that Suzie is in fact his lover. Now Robert is troubled because he doesn’t want Jacqueline thinking he has another affair. Confusing enough as that is, it’s only the first of many conflicts, lies, and misunderstandings to come. Eventually the caterer Suzette (Jenny Rastegar) and her husband George (Brian Hough) tangle themselves up in the mess as well.

Silly enough as the plot is, what really adds flare to the show is the way the actors decide to play on those doomed relationships. Whether they’re blackmailing one another or faking a seduction, each relationship brings new color to every scene. “You’re as good as your fellow actors,” said Natalie Hardt, who plays Jacqueline the jealous wife. “We work together, and it makes a difference when you like the play.”

What’s even more impressive is that Chuck Schilling, who plays Robert the lover/friend, joined the cast a mere nine days before opening night. The fact that I only realized that after the play when Hardt told me is a testament to how quickly the cast was able to pull together and establish a visible connection; especially amazing considering they’re all volunteer actors. “We worked hard to get him up to speed, and he learned like crazy,” Hardt said.
For Brian Hough who plays Suzette’s husband, his favorite part about working with the “fabulous cast and director” was the physical comedy. “We put a lot of work into the choreography–blocking–the way you act and move. It has to be timed perfectly or it looks fake,” Hough said.

The volunteer set designers had their share of fun too. Filling the stage with electrifying shades of orange and purple, and pseudo-classy striped armchairs that seem to be making fun of themselves, they provided a perfectly dramatic and silly backdrop for the actors to pour themselves a drink, spill said drinks, and brawl when necessary.

The costumes made the evening even more delicious, as we find the wife and mistress plotting together against the men while wearing a devious long black gown and a shimmery silver dress; everyone caught in their pajamas as an unexpected guest turns up; and–one of my favorites–the two men transforming Suzie the caterer’s drab uniform into a stylish little black number.

Whether you dress for this dinner or not, a night at this show will call for many slaps of the knee, shakes of the head, and whisperings of “Oh geez!” You’ll marvel at the triumph of our local volunteers, and, while I can’t promise the evocation of much philosophical reflection, I guarantee the ridiculous humour will have you guffawing and, most importantly, feeling great about how uncomplicated your life seems in comparison.

Concluding its 51st season, the Benicia Old Town Theatre Group presents ‘Don’t Dress for Dinner.’ See it for yourself from April 17th through May 9th, 8 pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 pm on Sundays.