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Review

Don't Dress for Dinner
by Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts

Two years ago this month, Huntington Beach High School’s Academy for the Performing Arts Theatre Department presented a madcap farce called “Boeing Boeing,” which starred an array of very talented drama majors at the esteemed high school, including Jacob Menke as Robert, one of the lead roles. The show was such a hit they decided to do it again…but this time - the sequel ”Don’t Dress For Dinner,” with Jacob now directing! Jacob, already an accomplished playwright, is a current UCLA student of Theater, Film and Television. Earlier this year, he was recruited by Robert Rotenberry, chairman of the theater and acting department, to direct the show, believing the APA veteran could bring valuable insight to the production. The result is an amazing theatrical invention.

Yes, Bernard and Robert are at it again! You would have thought they had learned something from their earlier experiences.

But that was years ago, and now we find Bernard (William Boyer Montgomery) no longer a bachelor playboy. He is married to Jacqueline (Isabella Krajewski) and living in a restored French farmhouse outside Paris. Despite their fine marriage, Bernard is planning a rendezvous weekend with his chic Parisian mistress, Suzanne (Catlynn Yates) who is to come by the house once Jacqueline is off to her mother’s for the weekend. He has also arranged for a cordon bleu cook to prepare gourmet delights, and has even invited his best friend over to provide the alibi. It's foolproof; or, so he thinks. What could go wrong?

Well, suppose Jacqueline decides to stay home for the weekend. Then suppose old pal Robert (Matthew Miltimore) turns up not knowing why he has been invited? And suppose Robert and Jacqueline are really secret lovers, but he is coming into town without her knowledge? And then what happens if the cook, Suzette (marvelously played by Kaylie Flowers), is mistaken for the mistress and ends up doing a lot more than cooking sauce as the evening unfolds. And what about George (Carson Taylor), who arrives only at the end but adds much to the confusion. An evening of hilarious mayhem ensues as Bernard and Robert improvise at breakneck speed – both ticking time bombs that may go off at any moment as we are drawn into a delicious web of marital treachery which accelerates into a classic finale.

The play opened last Thursday in APA’s Black Box Studio Theatre serving as the annual fundraiser night to benefit the theatre department, and featured a formal dinner catered by Love At First Bite, raffles and entertainment by a six-piece band from the MMET department. The final two shows will be this weekend, the 15th and 16th, Friday and Saturday evening at 7pm at a reduced price but will not include dinner or other events. Don’t miss this side-splitting nail-biter! Highly recommended for a giggling good time. For ticket information, go to http://www.hbapa.org/

Performed September 7 - 10, 2017

Chris Daniels
National Youth Arts

~ Cast ~

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Bernard: William Boyer Montgomery
Jacqueline: Isabelle Krajewski
Robert: Matthew Miltimore
Suzette: Kaylie Flowers
Suzanne: Catlynn Yates
George: Carson Taylor

Director: Jacob Menke
Costume Designer: Danielle Bazan, Julia Capelle, Isabella Diersing, Melayna Lasky, Sophia LeTourneau, Caitlyn Wang
Set Designer: Joe Batte
Lighting Designer: Riley Russell
Sound Designer: Marley Timmerman
Hair/Makeup Designer: Danielle Bazan, Julia Capelle, Isabella Diersing, Melayna Lasky, Sophia LeTourneau, Caitlyn Wang