The daily Astorian., September 29, 2016, Page 11, Image 21

SEPTEMBER 29, 2016 // 11
Continued from Pg. 10
he is to act as Bernard’s alibi for
that weekend.
When Jacqueline fi nds out that
Robert is arriving, she decides to
stay home, unaware of Bernard’s
mistress or of her impending visit.
Meanwhile, Suzette, a cook who
Bernard has hired to prepare a
gourmet dinner for Suzanne, also
arrives. Bernard’s attempts to
keep his affair secret, along with
Robert’s and Jacqueline’s worries
that Bernard will discover their
duplicity, makes for a fast-paced
frolic on stage.
“It’s sort of a commentary on a
lot of things,” Alderman said. It’s
primarily an exploration of human
nature, he added. “We’re laughing
at ourselves. The situation is so
absurd yet so human.”
Playing the roles of Bernard
and Jacqueline are Ryan Hull and
Jenni Tronier, who are married to
each other.
Hull, who has directed and
acted in plays at the Coaster, said
he was a “fi sh out of water when
it came to the circumstances Ber-
nard faces.”
“It’s been a challenge to cheat
on my acting wife when it’s my
real wife, which I would never
think to do, except when we’re on
stage. Oh my, this is complicat-
ed,” Hull said.
Hull and Tronier, who works
as public relations and operations
manager at the Coaster, co-found-
ed a production company and
produced several plays before
moving to Cannon Beach.
Jean Rice plays Suzette, the cook
who has to pretend she is Rob-
ert’s mistress, while the mistress,
Suzanne, pretends she is the cook
who can’t cook (as noted, it’s com-
plicated). Rice says her character
is the only level-headed member in
the ensemble. But to prepare for the
play, she had to develop two differ-
ent voices and mannerisms.
“I hope the audience leaves the
theater wanting to see more shows
because this one was a hoot!”
Rice said.
Also appearing in the play are
Rhonda Alderman, as the mistress;
and Stewart Martin, as Suzette’s
husband. Local actor Jason Hussa,
who plays Robert, fi lled in two
weeks before the play opened to
replace Richard Bowman, who
originally was cast in the part and
“DON’T DRESS FOR
DINNER,” which opened
Sept. 23, runs through
Oct. 22 at the Coaster
Theatre Playhouse. Friday
and Saturday shows
start at 7:30 p.m. and the
Sunday matinee on Oct. 9
begins at 3 p.m.
The play was written by
Marc Camoletti.
“It was written in French
by an Italian playwright,
translated for a British
stage and played by a
bunch of Americans,”
noted Mick Alderman,
who directs the play for
the Coaster.
Suzette’s husband, played by Stewart Martin, third from left, arrives to take his wife home.
Suzette, played by Jean Rice, center,
pretends to be the mistress of Rob-
ert, played by Jason Hussa, left, who
is actually having an aff air with his
best friend’s wife, Jacqueline, played
by Jenni Tronier, right.
had to drop out following a family
emergency.
“Casting is the key element
to any play,” Alderman said.
“There’s not a person involved
in this play that doesn’t have at
least a dozen shows behind them.
They know very well what they’re
doing. That’s good, since I’m not
an acting teacher.”
Even the stage set becomes
a character in the play. All of
the action occurs in a stylishly
renovated barn. The kitchen is
the former dairy, the dining room
is the former hen house and two
guest bedrooms are the old cow
shed and piggery.
“I wanted to go with the idea
that they used everything that had
been in the barn,” Alderman said.
To create the ambiance, Alder-
In “Don’t Dress for Dinner,” real-life husband and wife Ryan Hull, left, and Jenni Tronier, center, play Bernard and
Jacqueline, a husband and wife who are both cheating on each other — Jacqueline with Bernard’s best friend,
Robert, played by Jason Hussa, right.
man’s father, Jerry, gathered up
30 old pallets donated by Astoria
Warehousing Inc.
“He spent weeks pulling those
pallets apart,” Alderman said.
“There are 200 planks that make
up the bulk of the walls (around
the stage). “We wanted it to look
like old lumber.”
Jerry, an experienced carpenter,
and Kent Cloyd, from Coaster
Construction, put the walls up,
and Alderman stained all of them.
Jerry also built sliding barn doors
leading to the two bedrooms.
Then, Jerry found planks that
had been used as benches during
an outdoor wedding at a dairy
near Alderman’s house. A few of
those 30-foot-long planks were
cut up to create stairs, a bar and
shelves behind the bar.
The set heightens the humor
for the audience, a goal Alderman
wants to achieve.
“I just want them to laugh,” he
said. “I can’t believe they won’t.”