French Farce Don’t Dress For Dinner Eyes Broadway Berth

The hit Chicago revival of Marc Camoletti's Don’t Dress for Dinner, a sequel to the French sex farce Boeing-Boeing, is eyeing a Broadway run, according to The Chicago Tribune. The production, translated by Robin Hawdon and directed by John Tillinger, opened in November at the Royal George Theatre, starring Patricia Kalember and Jeffrey Donovan. The Tribune reports that Broadway producer Robyn Goodman is on board to bring the show to New York next season.

Don’t Dress for Dinner follows Jacqueline and Bernard, a happily married couple—or so it seems. When Jacqueline makes plans to visit her mother for a few days, Bernard prepares to spend some time with his new mistress. An old bachelor pal, Robert, announces his return from Hong Kong, allowing Bernard to believe he's found the perfect alibi. Until Jacqueline learns of Robert’s arrival and changes her travel plans. Throw in a Cordon Bleu-level chef and two women named Suzy and—voila!—Dinner becomes a high-speed farce.

The English-language version Don’t Dress for Dinner was initially produced in 1991 London’s West End, where it ran for seven years. In 1993, the play was performed at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey, and productions have since appeared in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. It has never appeared on Broadway.

Don't Dress for Dinner continues its extended run at Chicago's Royal George Theatre, with a cast that includes Kalember, Mark Harelik, Spencer Kayden, Jamie Morgan, Brendan Averett, Kate Berry, Mark D. Hines and Darren Pettie replacing Donovan as Robert.