Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 29, 2016)
10 // COASTWEEKEND.COM By NANCY McCARTHY hose who attend “Don’t Dress for Dinner” at the Coaster Theatre Playhouse won’t have to wear formal attire, but they will have to bring an appetite for a come- dy full of laughs. In this tightly written romp that resembles a Shake- spearean farce, the question to be considered by the actors and the audience alike is: Who is whom when? Director Mick Alderman manages to keep the dizzying disarray of mistresses, friends, cooks and Suzis lowing smoothly. That may be because this is the third time he has encoun- tered the play. He directed it as a readers theater for an American Association of University Wom- en beneit in 2001 and designed the light- ing for it when it was staged at the former River Theater in Astoria in 2007. “I found it hysterical,” Alderman said. “I laughed all the way through rehearsals. It keeps me laughing. In my 30 years of theater, I’ve never seen a funnier play.” A local playwright, ilm- maker, actor and author, Al- derman began telling stories in grade and high school when he and his friends ilmed stop-mo- tion animations with clay and action igures. In a theater class at Clatsop Community College, teacher Del Corbett taught Alderman how to design the ‘IN MY 30 YEARS OF THEATER, I’VE NEVER SEEN A FUNNIER PLAY.’ SUBMITTED PHOTOS BY GEORGE VETTER / CANNON-BEACH.NET In “Don’t Dress for Dinner,” Jean Rice, second from left, plays Suzette, a cook who must pretend to be the mistress of Robert, played by Jason Hussa, third from left. But Robert is actually having an afair with Jacqueline, played by Jenni Tronier, left, who is married to Bernard, played by Ryan Hull, right. Bernard is also having an afair with his mistress, Suzanne, for whom Suzette was going to cook a romantic meal. lighting for theatrical produc- tions, and Alderman has been doing that for several years at the Coaster Theatre and other North Coast venues. As a screenwriter, Alderman wrote the scripts for several of his own ilms, including the supernatural thriller “Haunted Shore,” winner of the Best Narrative Feature of a Paciic Northwest Filmmaker at the Eugene International Film Festival of 2011. Several of his own full- length plays have been staged locally. Alderman also authored a memoir, “Three Weeks With the Goonies,” detailing his experience on the set of “The Goonies” as a guest of director Richard Donner when the mov- ie was shot in Astoria in 1984. The “fun part” about di- recting a play, Alderman said, is not having to worry about camera angles and lighting each scene, which requires so much attention when making ilms. “When I’m doing that, I don’t get to interact with the ac- tors, but as a director, all I have to worry about is the acting, and that was great. We just have to tell the story.” The story of “Don’t Dress for Dinner” takes place outside of Paris. Bernard has invited his mistress, Suzanne, to his home while his wife, Jacque- line, is away for the weekend. Bernard’s best friend, Robert — who, it turns out, is Jacqueline’s lover (unbenownst to Bernard) — also is visiting, unaware that Continued on Pg. 11
