Clifton's Dinner and a Show Gets Local

for Clifton’s Dinner Theater with a script written just for the occasion.

“We looked at a lot of plays and they either didn’t have the right number of characters, or they were way too complicated or way to simple,” said Dianne Janczewski, one of two playwrights and the show's producer. “At that point, we just figured we should write it.”

Janczewski and co-writer/director Charlotte Yakovleff had worked on the first ever Clifton Dinner Theater last year. That performance of Lee Mueller's "I'm Getting Murdered in the Morning” .

To accommodate the audience, this year the show “Maid for Dogs” will run on three days, March 22, 23, and 24 at Clifton’s town meeting hall. The playwrights made a point to make plenty of Clifton references in the play, which they started planning in November.

“The audience are guests at a party for a prominent Clifton family,” Yakovleff said. “There is a lot of slapstick comedy — except when something goes wrong. At that point the audience will decipher clues and follow along.”

It took about 8 weeks to write the play. The play has an 11-person cast, most of whom are Clifton residents.

Cast member Max Snyder, 15, has been in school plays before but jumped at the chance to get involved in community theater. He has worked hard to get into character.

“My character is sophisticated and snotty,” Snyder, who attends Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax, said. “My character is very different from me, so it’s difficult but fun.”

Actors rehearse about 8 hours a week — a big time commitment for the all-volunteer group.

James Manchester works a full-time job and juggles his role in the play. He had been involved in choir performances before but this is his first time in the Clifton play.

“It’s been a learning experience,” Manchester said. “It eats up a lot of time but it’s been very pleasurable.”

The cast has just a few more weeks of rehearsal before taking it to the stage, and the cast is looking forward to it.

“You don’t want to miss anything from the beginning to the end,” Yakovleff  said. “Don’t miss any of the details.”

The play takes place on March 22, 23, and 24 at the 12641 Chapel Road. Appetizers will be served starting at 7 p.m. and the performances begin at 8 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased at , , The Clifton Wine Shop and Tasting Room, and . Tickets are $30 on Thursday and $35 on Friday and Saturday.

For more information contact cliftontheater@gmail.com.

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