PRINTTwo affairs to remember
CEC performs the ultimate love quadrangle farce
April 30, 2009 | 12:00 a.m. CST
Audience members will be the only ones who know exactly who’s sleeping with whom in Columbia Entertainment Company’s production of Marc Camoletti’s Don’t Dress for Dinner, and that’s only if they can keep up.
The comedy of errors, directed by Weldon Durham, follows husband and wife Bernard and Jacqueline who are staying at their country house outside of Paris. Jacqueline is planning to visit her mother for the weekend, so Bernard invites his mistress Suzanne (who goes by Suzy) and best friend, Robert, over for the weekend. What Bernard doesn’t know is that his wife and Robert are getting it on, and when she hears he’s coming for the weekend, Jacqueline cancels her trip. With two secret affairs under one roof, the tenuous situation becomes even more confusing when the house’s cook-for-hire, Suzette, also goes by Suzy. Mistaken identities, miscommunication and jealousy abound while Bernard and Robert desperately try to balance the ever-teetering situation and keep everyone in the dark.
What: Don't Dress for Dinner
When: April 30 -May 2, 7:30 p.m., May 3, 2 p.m.
Where: Columbia Entertainment Company
Cost: $8-10
Call: 474-3699
Visit: http://www.cectheatre.org/about_cec.html
“It’s funny and fast-moving,” says Kristina Grant, who plays the mistress Suzanne. “And the women are in lingerie. Who doesn’t want to see that?”
The script is packed with rapid-fire dialogue that is just as confusing and funny as Abbott and Costello’s Who’s On First? One example is when Bernard tries to convince Jacqueline that Suzanne is Robert’s mistress instead of his own. Jacqueline, though, thinks Robert has confessed their affair to her husband, Bernard. All the while, Robert is trying to silently convey to his lover, Jacqueline, that his car is not parked in someone else’s garage nor has he told Bernard of their affair. And if this isn’t confusing enough, wait for the scene when Robert introduces the cook, Suzy, as his girlfriend instead of Bernard’s mistress, Suzy.
The clever dialogue is complemented by the physical comedy that emerges as Robert tries to keep Suzy (the cook) off of him as she convincingly masquerades as his lover, and romantic rendezvous are interrupted by the appearances of spouses. Although the play centers on the sticky adultery subject, this is all about getting a laugh.
“This show is just straight-up comedy,” says Ben Hedrick, who plays Robert. “You don’t walk away with a different perspective, but you will walk away in a better mood from all the laughing.”
Despite being drenched with sexual tension, the play is pretty tame, Durham says. Offensive language is kept to a minimum, and much of the humor comes from the duality of the language. Durham and his cast take any opportunity in Camoletti’s script to pump the play full of innuendos. Chances are if it sounds risqué, it probably is.
Twitter
Facebook
