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Listen to Mike and Laura Clark discuss Potomac Theatre Company’s production of Don’t Dress for Dinner. [MP3 2:40 2.4MB].

Don’t Dress For Dinner, a comedy by Marc Camoletti, adapted by Robin Howdon, is a situation comedy about double adultery and mistaken identities.

Farces can be funny. The timing is the key as well as good facial expressions that can lead to rolling in the aisle with laughter. Unfortunately, not so in this case. The show’s pace was slow and received only chuckles from the audience. The actors did not seem comfortable around each other, for example there was no spark between the married couple Bernard (Joe Kelly) and Jacqueline (Tina Segovia). The staging was also a bit awkward, with a lot of time spent facing upstage. The cast was also fairly lethargic, although one notable exception was Robert (Dan Eddy) and Jacqueline’s fight as they forced the other backwards during their verbal sparring. The theater at the Bullis School Blair Family Center for the Arts is a large stage that was too large for this show. The actors were simply too spread out. By moving the three gorgeous set pieces (designed by Steve Hambrick) closer together would have helped with the intimacy of the show.

Suzette, the cook, mistress, niece, and wife was played by Kimberly Mikec. She appeared to be the most comfortable on stage. Mikec showed lots of small touches that accented her character, such as when she was slightly tipsy. Eric Henry played Suzette’s husband George, the befuddled bystander trying to make sense of what the couples were trying to explain to him. Henry’s innocence was entirely believable, and his expression while acknowledging his wife’s cousin was a blend of confusion and recognition.

The actors used microphones to project their voices. The costumer designer (Marietta Greene) concealed the mic packs well. At times though the sound was hollow, and during a few hugs the actor’s voice boomed since they were broadcasting with two microphones.

Don’t Dress For Dinner ran two hours and ten minutes with one intermission it is playing for one more weekend, Friday and Saturday at 8 pm and a Sunday matinee at 2 pm at the Bullis School in Potomac, Maryland.

Cast

• Bernard: Joe Kelly
• Jacqueline: Tina Segovia
• Robert: Dan Eddy
• Suzette: Kimberly Mikec
• Suzanne: Laura Salisbury
• George: Eric Henry

Crew

• Director: Barry Hoffman
• Assistant Director: Tom Savoie
• Producer: Barry Hoffman
• Stage Manager: Rachel Kepnes
• Assistant Stage Manager: Tami Hunter
• Set Designer: Steve Hambrick
• Costume Designer: Marietta Greene
• Light Designer/Operator: Steve Deming
• Sound Designer/Operator: Tammi T. Gardner
• Sound Consultant: David Steigerwald
• Props/Set Dressing: Elie Cain
• Set Construction: Alan Beck, Steve Hambrick, Ray Durante, Elie & Ted Cain, Joe Kelly, Eric Henry, Steve Deming
• House Manager: Elie Cain
• Playbill: Marilyn Shockey
• Photographer: Harvey Levine
• Box Office/Reservations: Marilyn Shockey