Romance and run-arounds spice up SRT’s tasty French Farce
When
it comes to whipping up comic delights, there’s nothing quite like a
delicious French farce: Take one lovely home in the French countryside.
Add a philandering husband, his gorgeous mistress and a Cordon Bleu chef
hired for a romantic weekend getaway. Add the husband’s wife and the
couple’s best friend who have a few secrets of their own. Fold together
with some mix ups and mishaps, and then turn up the heat. The result?
Pure delight – SRT’s tasty comedic treat Don’t Dress for Dinner, next up at the Fallon House stage, September 6-29.
The two-act play was written by French playwright Marc Camoletti, as a sequel of sorts to his smash hit Boeing Boeing. Don’t Dress for Dinner
was a long-running smash in Paris and London in the early 1990s, and is
enjoying renewed popularity after a successful Broadway production last
year that garnered two Tony Award nominations.
Guest
Director Peter DeBono has all the ingredients for all-out fun – a great
cast, exceptional design team and SRT audiences who love to laugh!
DeBono, newly retired as chair of the theater department at Monterey
Peninsula College, considers this a well-crafted piece that will be fun
for the cast and the audience.
“Like every good farce, it starts out with one lie – then two more have
to be told to cover it up, and two more after that,” DeBono said. “This
show especially gives you lots of physical bits and a great playing
field. This is perfect for summer, especially in Columbia.”
Very quickly, the characters tie themselves into knots trying to keep
it all straight and the audience gets to just sit back and enjoy.
The London Guardian proclaimed it “breathtaking farce…a near faultless piece of theatrical invention.” The San Diego Union Tribune said it was “a bewitching blend of sharp acting, funny lines and a twisty, intricate plot.”
And critics in Chicago and New York called it “pure giddy pleasure,”
“lickety-split-second lunacy” and said it “stays in the air like a
precarious but well-built soufflé.”
Getting a team of actors who have the comic instincts and split-second
timing to pull it off is the key to success, DeBono said, and he’s
excited to work with a great cast.
“The individual actors have incredible comic timing skills,” he said,
“and we’re all looking forward to blending them together.”
SRT favorites Clayton Hodges and Louis Lotorto will team up as husband
Bernard and his best friend Robert. Hodges played Bernard in SRT’s hit
production of Boeing Boeing, Lotorto had audiences cracking up in The Ladies Man, Rough Crossing and Picasso at the Lapin Agile, and the two appeared as romantic rivals in SRT’s The Rainmaker.
Hodges is enjoying the chance to update his mischievous character from Boeing Boeing.
“It’s amazing,” he said with a grin. “Bernard has three new women to
cheat on! Really though, it’s wonderful to be back and it’s so much fun.
The show isn’t a sequel exactly, but these are the same characters
getting into more trouble!”
Playing
opposite the fellows are SRT newcomers Emily Brooks as the mistress,
Suzanne, Kathleen DeSilva as the wife, Jacqueline, and Eva Swan as the
chef, Suzette. And rounding out the nutty action is Nick Waaland (SRT’s Carousel) as the chef’s husband, George.
Guest artist Austin Rausch is the costume designer and scenic design is
by guest artist Randall A. Enlow. Props are by SRT’s Mercy Sharpe,
lighting is by SRT’s Peter Leibold and the stage manager is Doug
Brennan.
SRT’s production of Don’t Dress for Dinner is presented with the help of our Silver Sponsor Golden State Cellular and 2013 Season Sponsor Clarke Broadcasting.
Don’t Dress for Dinner opens September 6 and runs through September 29 at the Fallon House Theatre in Columbia State Historic Park. Thursday and Friday performances begin at 7 p.m., Saturday evening shows begin at 8 and Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinees begin at 2 p.m. is a special “talk back” with performers follows the evening performance on Thursday, September 19.
General admission ranges from $26-$32 depending on the day of the
performance. The show is rated PG, (suitable for ages 12 and up).
For more information or reservations, call Sierra Rep’s box office at (209) 532-3120 or visit Sierra Rep at www.sierrarep.org.
