Don’t Dress For Dinner in Oliver

Don’t Dress for Dinner opened this past weekend to enthusiastic Osoyoos crowds. Attendance both evenings was among the highest for any SOAP production at the OSS Theatre. The cast and crew look forward re-tuning for the larger stage at the Frank Venables Theatre and welcoming crowds from Oliver to Penticton this Friday and Saturday, February 3-4, at 7:30 both evenings. Of course, we also expect a sizeable Osoyoos contingent who heard about this great show from their friends that attended this past weekend!

 

Don’t Dress for Dinner is Mr. Camoletti’s “saucy” sequel to last fall’s bedroom romp, and will be staged by SOAP Theatre Society at the OSS Theatre in Osoyoos on January 27-28 before moving to the Frank Venables theatre in Oliver on February 3-4. Curtain time for all shows is 7:30 pm.

Several years have passed since Bernard (Trevor Leigh) married his “favourite” fiancee, Jaqueline (Jackie Brockholm) and moved to a converted farmhouse outside Paris. With Jacqueline off to visit her mother, Bernard is salivating over the idea of a weekend romp with his mistress, Suzanne (Louise Szalay). It’s foolproof; what could possibly go wrong?

Well, Bernard’s old pal Robert (Craig Bjornsen) is also invited to supply an alibi. But unbeknownst to Bernard, Robert is having an affair with Jacqueline, who swiftly cancels on mother when she gets wind of her paramour’s arrival.

The prime source of the play’s accelerating confusion is Suzette (Angela Stuart), a Cordon Bleu chef hired by Bernard for the evening. Given Suzanne and Suzette’s similar names, Robert initially assumes Suzette is Bernard’s mistress and passes her off as his date to cover for his friend. By the time he wises up, it’s too late to correct the mistake without exposing either his own hanky-panky or his buddy’s.

Unfazed by the eccentricities of her clients, Suzette is happy to play along and pose as Robert’s girlfriend, niece or whatever, extorting additional payments from both men for each fresh layer of deception, including having to pretend to be the mistress while the mistress is unable to cook.

​An evening of hilarious confusion ensues as Bernard and Robert improvise at breakneck speed, to be interrupted only by arrival of a gruff and suspicious George (Bryan Sykes), to pick up his wife, Suzette at the end of her evening catering engagement.

Nathan Linders is back to direct his third performance for SOAP. “I have been most fortunate to work with this great cast … a lively mix of seasoned professional and amateur actors (Mr. Leigh, Mr. Bjornsen), recent SOAP additions (Ms Brockholm , Ms Szalay) and newcomers (Ms Stuart , Mr. Sykes).”

 Frank Venables Theatre uses assigned seating, so get your tickets early for best selection and to save money on at-the-door prices. They can be purchased at:

Sundance Video in Oliver (cash only please)·        

On-line ticket office (www.venablestheatre.ca … Visa/MasterCard… 24 hours/day)

Venables Box Office in person (6100 Gala Street Oliver … Tue-Wed-Thu 10:00 to 3:00…cash, credit, debit)

Buy by phone (250-498-1626 … Tue-Wed-Thu 10:00 to 3:00…Visa, MasterCard)

If you miss our office hours, you can email tix@venablestheatre.ca with your phone number and they’ll call you back.

Advance tickets through all outlets are $22.50 for adults and $15.00 for students (includes all fees).Adult prices at the door increase to $25.00 

With your advance, assigned seat ticket in hand, enjoy an offering from our licensed concession before the show. The theatre lobby opens at 6:30 pm on show nights.