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BERNARD FROM BOEING BOEING's STORY CONTINUES WITH "DON'T DRESS FOR DINNER"

  • Writer: Magenta Managing Director
    Magenta Managing Director
  • Jun 30
  • 3 min read

Magenta Theater continues its Cultivating Connection Season of plays with its upcoming production, "Don’t Dress for Dinner" by Marc Camoletti and Robin Hawdon, directed by Michael Reid. Performances begin July 11, 2025 and end July 27, 2025 on Thursday, Friday, and Saturdays at 7:30pm, and Sundays at 2:00pm. 


Photo by Bob Spink.
Photo by Bob Spink.

The sequel to Camoletti’s breakout hit “Boeing Boeing”, Bernard, the French playboy and his best friend Robert return in this laugh-out-loud farce produced by Magenta Theater. 


“Bernard is planning a romantic weekend with his chic Parisian mistress in his charming converted French farmhouse, whilst his wife, Jacqueline, is away. He has arranged for a Cordon Bleu cook to prepare gourmet delights, and has invited his best friend, Robert, along too to provide the alibi. It's foolproof; what could possibly go wrong? Well... suppose Robert turns up not realizing quite why he has been invited. Suppose Robert and Jacqueline are secret lovers, and consequently determined that Jacqueline will NOT leave for the weekend. Suppose the cook has to pretend to be the mistress and the mistress can't cook. Suppose everyone's alibi gets confused with everyone else's. An evening of hilarious confusion ensues as Bernard and Robert improvise at breakneck speed.


This boulevard comedy was a smash hit in Paris, where it played for over two years, and in London, where it ran for six years at the Apollo and Duchess Theatres. It has since played in theatres all over the USA and the English speaking world and was revived in Chicago and on Broadway at the American Airlines Theatre in 2012. This production was nominated for two Tony awards.” (Concord Theatricals)


Magenta Theater’s production is directed by MICHAEL REID, recognizable from previous productions at Magenta, and features a cast of local community performers: 


Cast: 

BERNARD: MICHAEL BRIGGS

JACQUELINE: KATIE NORCROSS

ROBERT: MATTHEW THOGERSON

SUZANNE: RUBY SILBERSTEIN

SUZETTE: HOLLY COOPER

GEORGE: KYLE JOHNSON


Creative Team:

PRODUCTION MANAGER: ERIN KNITTLE

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR & STAGE MANAGER: ALICE TANZILLO

COSTUME DESIGNER: LAURIE ROBERTSON

HAIR & MAKEUP: HEIDI MCECHRON

PROPS: JULIANNE BODNER

SCENIC PAINTER: ADALINE MCCORMICK

LIGHTING DESIGNER: WAYNE SIMONS

SCENIC DESIGNER: KRISTEN BENNETT

SET DRESSING & LEAD CARPENTER: ALLEN PHILLIPS

SOUND DESIGNER: AUTUMN BOCHART


Briggs, Thogerson, and Norcross rehearse on the set of Don't Dress for Dinner.
Briggs, Thogerson, and Norcross rehearse on the set of Don't Dress for Dinner.

Playwrights

MARC CAMOLETTI

Marc Camoletti (1923-2003) authored more than 40 plays and became a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in France. Boeing Boeing, his first major international success, ran for seven years and 2000 performances in its debut London production. It became the Guinness Book of Records' most performed French play worldwide. The Paramount film starred Jerry Lewis, Tony Curtis and Thelma Ritter. A later play, Don’t Dress for Dinner, also ran for seven years in London’s West End. A French citizen, born in Geneva, and an acclaimed artist and associate of the Société National des Beaux Arts, Marc Camoletti launched his theatre career with three plays running simultaneously in Paris. Ten of his plays have also been produced for television. His work continues to flourish in numerous languages and some 55 countries.


ROBIN HAWDON

Robin Hawdon is a British playwright especially known for the popularity of his comedies. Mr. Hawdon’s plays are amongst the most frequently produced around the world – his name is as well known abroad as in his native Great Britain. Many of his plays are published by Samuel French/Concord. Over recent years his plays have appeared in mainstream theatres in the UK, New York, Chicago, Toronto, Paris, Moscow, Warsaw, Krakow, Bonn, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Tel Aviv, Russia, Italy, Ukraine, South Africa, Australia, and in hundreds of smaller theatres across every continent. Their popularity, amongst professional and amateur companies alike, is due to the fast pace and comic complexity of their plot lines, combined with an essential humanity and reality in their characterisation.


Advance purchase of tickets is recommended online at MAGENTATHEATER.COM for $26 and at the door as inventory permits.  


For more information call (360) 949-3098 or email info@magentatheater.com.


Show Dates and Times:

Friday, July 11, 2025 7:30pm; Saturday, July 12, 2025 7:30pm; Sunday, July 13, 2025 2:00pm; Thursday, July 17, 2025 7:30pm; Friday, July 18, 2025 7:30pm; Saturday, July 19, 2025 7:30pm; Sunday, July 20, 2025 2:00pm; Thursday, July 24, 2025 7:30pm; Friday, July 25, 2025 7:30pm; Saturday, July 26, 2025 7:30pm; Sunday, July 27, 2025 2:00pm

 
 
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