"Too many cooks" might well "spoil the broth", but not so in a wildly improbable farce. -- Robin Hawdon's deft adaptation of Don't Dress for Dinner, one of a number of collaborations with playwright Marc Camoletti [see Boeing, Boeing, for example], which opened on Thursday to a small but appreciative audience at the Wetumpka Depot.
With its sharp dialogue and fast action, any of the improbabilities of the plot get thrown out the window as audiences' laughter keeps them from anticipating the action, and generates even more laughter as the characters attempt to extricate themselves from each turn of events.
Director Kim Wilson [formerly Mason] guides her six ensemble actors through the rigors of farce that includes mistaken identities, infidelity, slapstick, elaborate lies, and coverups.
Bernard [Will Webster] plans an intimate catered dinner and assignation with his mistress, a model named Suzanne [Dani Lowery], while his wife Jacqueline [Amber Chapman] is away; but when Jacqueline decides to forego her visit with her Mother, Bernard conscripts his friend Robert [Brad Sinclair] to rescue him. When the cook Suzette [Sydney Broach] before Suzanne gets there -- and both are called "Suzy" -- well, imagine the confusions that build over time. -- It's all good-natured sophisticated fun, with a rescue in the nick of time by Suzette's husband George [Jason Sizemore] serving as a kind of deus ex machina to unravel the truth.
Opening night jitters perhaps slowed the action a bit as actors often took too long to respond to cues and needed more purposeful movement; hopefully these matters will be remedied as the run of the play continues. Regardless, Don't Dress for Dinner is a mirthful escapist romp: something we all need these days.
