Ames Community Theater is thrilled to continue its 65th season with the lively and amusing production of Don’t Dress for Dinner. A fast-paced sex farce, this two Tony award nominee is full of plenty of surprises and humor to refresh and entertain audience members well past the final curtain’s close.
Continuing our partnership with Iowa State’s Stephens Auditorium for Don’t Dress for Dinner, ACTORS is providing people with a safe way to see a live performance. Proper COVID-19 guidelines will be in place with social distancing between groups seated in the house, aisles, and restrooms. Masks are required for everyone in Stephens Auditorium and all touchpoint surfaces are disinfected before every show. Join the ACTORS’s cast at Stephens Thursday, January 28th, Friday, January 29th, and Saturday, January 30th, all at 7:30 p.m. A final matinee performance will be Sunday, January 31st at 2 p.m. Live streaming rights are not available for this show so plan to come see this show safely at Stephens!
Tickets are $15 and may be purchased online now at actorsinc.org or at the door the night of the shows. Tickets may also be purchased at Alpha Copies, located at 3615 Lincoln Way. First Point members can get tickets at the downtown First National Bank. When you purchase tickets online at actorsinc.org, our ticketing system will automatically apply social distancing between guests.
Written by Marc Camoletti, and adapted by Robin Hawdon, the comedy unfolds the confusions that arise when Bernard, married to Jacqueline, plans a weekend with his mistress while his wife is gone. His plan is set: he’ll invite his best friend, Robert (who doesn’t know about any of this yet) to come over and cover for him. Bernard even hires a cook for himself and his mistress. The only problem is, Jacqueline also has a secret lover, and of course, it’s Robert. So when Robert comes over, Jacqueline and Robert are determined that Jacqueline needs to stay so they can maybe have some secret alone time, effectively ruining Bernard’s plans. Now the kitchen-illiterate mistress must become the cook, and the cook has to pretend to be the mistress. Confused yet? It makes much more sense in person- the perfect show for any theater lover or even those just looking for a night of hearty laughter. A review from The Guardian says it best; “Hurtling along at the speed of light, [this] breathtaking farce is a near faultless piece of theatrical invention.”
Director Nicole Galliart could not agree more. When asked why people should come she says, “It is just silly. The jokes fast paced and will keep you laughing.” Clayton Johnson, the other director, shared her excitement: “It is absurd and reminds me of an old Abbott and Costello comedy routine.”
The cast of Don’t Dress for Dinner features ACTORS veterans: Kyle Peter, Benjamin Nuckolls, and Ben Smith. New to ACTORS are performer/s Morgan Reetz, Corinn Brush, and Kristin Gredys Ihm.
Please enter Stephens through the tower doors on the south side of the building to use hand sanitizer before finding your seats. The doors will open early to help eliminate crowds at entry and exit points. Tickets are limited, so get yours soon; this is a show you won’t want to miss!
