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Comedy / Characters: 3 male, 3 femaleScenery: Interior
Here is a decidedly French dinner party served up in a chaotic mode that only a master of comedy could create. Five people are invited to dine at a first rate restaurant in Paris. They do not know who the other guests will be or why they have been invited. Tossed together in a private dining room, they have a sneaking suspicion that this unorthodox dinner party will forever change their lives. John Ritter and Henry Winkler starred in the wildly successful Kennedy Center production and on Broadway.
"A blizzard of one liners.... The audience can bank on some good laughs."-New York Daily News
"Frequently hilarious but also dangerously serious...An invitation you'll be glad you accepted."-New York Post
Here is a decidedly French dinner party served up in a chaotic mode that only a master of comedy could create. Five people are invited to dine at a first rate restaurant in Paris. They do not know who the other guests will be or why they have been invited. Tossed together in a private dining room, they have a sneaking suspicion that this unorthodox dinner party will forever change their lives. John Ritter and Henry Winkler starred in the wildly successful Kennedy Center production and on Broadway.
"A blizzard of one liners.... The audience can bank on some good laughs."-New York Daily News
"Frequently hilarious but also dangerously serious...An invitation you'll be glad you accepted."-New York Post
82 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2002
6 people are currently reading
187 people want to read
About the author
Neil Simon
178 books272 followersMarvin Neil Simon was an American playwright and screenwriter. He wrote more than 30 plays and he received more combined Oscar and Tony nominations than any other writer. He was one of the most reliable hitmakers in Broadway history, as well as one of the most performed playwrights in the world. Though primarily a comic writer, some of his plays, particularly the Eugene Trilogy and The Sunshine Boys, reflect on the twentieth century Jewish-American experience.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 11, 2019
An enjoyable and a real funny play at the beginning, that has a very interesting mystery to it. Why are 3 men and 3 women, invented to a dinner party? But as the play gets closer to the end and the mystery is revealed, the mood of the play gets a little more serious and feels, like Neal Simon, didn't really know how he wanted to end the story lines between these 6 people.
What made me want to read this play was, I saw some pictures of John Ritter and Henry Winkler acting together in a production of this in 2001. Since there isn't any video footage of the play, reading the play, was the next best thing to do. I could picture both of them, in the characters they played, Claude for Ritter and Albert for Winkler. At first, I liked both characters but as I got closer to the end, I started to like Albert's character a bit more than I did Claude.
What made me want to read this play was, I saw some pictures of John Ritter and Henry Winkler acting together in a production of this in 2001. Since there isn't any video footage of the play, reading the play, was the next best thing to do. I could picture both of them, in the characters they played, Claude for Ritter and Albert for Winkler. At first, I liked both characters but as I got closer to the end, I started to like Albert's character a bit more than I did Claude.
September 12, 2019
Six people are invited to a dinner party. Upon arrival, they discover that they are actually three sets of divorcees, and the party was orchestrated intentionally to get them to confront the reasons why each of their marriages failed.
I laughed out loud several times reading this script -- it's really delightful.
I laughed out loud several times reading this script -- it's really delightful.
January 8, 2014
I usually enjoy Neil Simon's works, but this one was just not for me. Quite honestly, I got bored very quickly. There were a few lines that made me smile, but nothing that really stood out as funny, or even remotely fun. The characters were lacking character and the script...ugh. I am not a fan of this Neil Simon play.
May 5, 2007
I am a bit biased because I performed in this play. If I was going to be objective, I probably would have given this only two stars. Neil Simon was the writer for the Odd Couple, but here the jokes fall flat and his attempt at relationships-drama is unconvincing.
April 1, 2019
I was kinda getting into the zingers and the mystery behind the dinner, but it totally lost me as it a got all serious and moody at the end. Pass.
Tune in here for a discussion on some favorite Neil Simon plays: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...
Tune in here for a discussion on some favorite Neil Simon plays: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...
October 25, 2022
Dinner Party is so different from anything else Neil Simon has written that this at once becomes the most remarkable and noticeable thing about it. It also makes it difficult to write about, except in the negative: there are none of the trademark one-liners here, nor any of the gloriously grand comic set pieces; there's not a neurotic, wisecracking New Yorker in sight.
But what would I write if Dinner Party were written by anyone else? That it's a melancholy, bittersweet comic drama; an articulate and enormously artificial play about regret and loss and paths not taken and opportunities missed. It's very much the work of a mature and seasoned writer--one who is sad and wise. It's ambitious and interesting though not necessarily satisfying.
It's wrought in tiny, careful brushstrokes of subdued pastels, grays, and silvers. This is what sets it apart from the rest of the Simon canon: even his saddest plays, like Broadway Bound and Lost in Yonkers, explode with color and broad, bold characterization: nothing subtle about them. But Dinner Party is studiedly--if not artfully--small: an intimate, thoughtful, poignant glimpse at six lonely men and women approaching middle age, stung too hard and too close by love that was unforgivingly unconditional. Simon surprises us terribly in this play, which by itself is noteworthy; how well he succeeds, though, I will leave for you to decide for yourself.
The premise of Dinner Party is simple enough: six people have been invited, unbeknownst to one another, to dine in an elegant private room in an exclusive Parisian restaurant. They arrive one at a time, encountering each other in pairs and trios, until at last they start to detect the pattern that explains why they're there. It turns out that they are all divorced couples. They've been brought together to look backward--and forward--at their damaged relationships. Will--or perhaps more to the point, can--any or all of them reconcile?
But what would I write if Dinner Party were written by anyone else? That it's a melancholy, bittersweet comic drama; an articulate and enormously artificial play about regret and loss and paths not taken and opportunities missed. It's very much the work of a mature and seasoned writer--one who is sad and wise. It's ambitious and interesting though not necessarily satisfying.
It's wrought in tiny, careful brushstrokes of subdued pastels, grays, and silvers. This is what sets it apart from the rest of the Simon canon: even his saddest plays, like Broadway Bound and Lost in Yonkers, explode with color and broad, bold characterization: nothing subtle about them. But Dinner Party is studiedly--if not artfully--small: an intimate, thoughtful, poignant glimpse at six lonely men and women approaching middle age, stung too hard and too close by love that was unforgivingly unconditional. Simon surprises us terribly in this play, which by itself is noteworthy; how well he succeeds, though, I will leave for you to decide for yourself.
The premise of Dinner Party is simple enough: six people have been invited, unbeknownst to one another, to dine in an elegant private room in an exclusive Parisian restaurant. They arrive one at a time, encountering each other in pairs and trios, until at last they start to detect the pattern that explains why they're there. It turns out that they are all divorced couples. They've been brought together to look backward--and forward--at their damaged relationships. Will--or perhaps more to the point, can--any or all of them reconcile?
January 28, 2021
I directed this play a few years ago. When I first read it, I loved the first half, thought it was so funny, but really didn’t get the second half. The tone had changed so much and I didn’t like it. Fast forward to rehearsal. The back and forth process between actor and director really made it come to life for me and really made the meaning clear. I would have never found that place if it hadn’t been for that wonderful creative synergy. The final performance was something we were all so proud of, and our audiences loved it. If you’re going to produce this play I hope the same things happen for you.
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July 21, 2021This play begins with some very funny farce. The dialogue among the men is witty and fun. I like the use of word play. When the women appear, the play seems to take a turn. I thought the rationale for the gathering seemed a bit contrived. And I felt the story lost some momentum by the end. Still, I would like to see it performed. That always changes things with plays.
February 10, 2022
I read the whole play tonight and it’s pretty good. So many funny lines to start. And some really excellent statements toward the end. Lots of lines for me to memorize, too.
The seam between the farce and the realism is a big rough, but one you are over that hump, the far side is really quite beautiful.
The seam between the farce and the realism is a big rough, but one you are over that hump, the far side is really quite beautiful.
July 28, 2020
Ugly, existential, bitter and pointless conversations among ex-spouses invited to an anonymous dinner party at a fancy restaurant. All talk, no real resolution, and relationships unlike any in real life. Not for us.
February 8, 2023
I'm not really sure what he was going for here. Drama? Comedy? Dramedy? It seemed like he was setting up for a Comedy of Errors but it took itself way too seriously. Neil Simon can make a great drama (Lost in Yonkers) but this one just didn't work for me.
January 3, 2021
Read it, was in it years ago, laugh out loud until it gets serious at the end. Then it's as good as the characters you've envisioned saying the lines.
August 6, 2021
This was terrific and I feel it has some serious moments while retaining that fun Simon dialogue.
April 3, 2022
A humdinger of a story and my next on stage adventure.
January 20, 2023
Not my favorite of Simon’s work. The comedy Al felt a bit forced and immature until all of the characters are finally together at the end, and that true Simon banter gets to take force.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 2, 2023
Not the best Simon ever. Intricate plot and characters. Not all of the usual Simon zing to the dialogue. Slow moving sometimes and wordy.
February 11, 2024
Super clever play! The dialogue sings, the characters are distinct and interesting, I just found the structure a little odd - especially near the ending.
February 5, 2008
I saw this on Broadway and enjoyed it immensely. Now, as I read through it, considering it for production with a local community theatre group, I realize that I like this more than most of Simon's latest works.
I have felt recently that Neil Simon has either tried too hard to make us laugh (Laughter on the 23rd Floor) or been trying to be too poignant (the biographical 'Brighton Beach' series) for me to really enjoy his recent works. Where is the writer who penned The Odd Couple or The Sunshine Boys or even Barefoot in the Park? The answer is ... he is here.
Before I began to read this, I wondered if perhaps what I had enjoyed about the Broadway performance was seeing John Ritter and Len Cariou and Henry Winkler sharing the stage. But no, what makes this play work is the writing.
The witiness, which covers a characters pain ... classic Simon ... is here. And yet the pain isn't too deeply imbedded, otherwise we'd have trouble really laughing (which has been my problem with the Brighton Beach plays).
If you've liked the earlier Neil Simon works, you will probably like this one, too. Worth reading. Worth seeing. Worth producing.
I have felt recently that Neil Simon has either tried too hard to make us laugh (Laughter on the 23rd Floor) or been trying to be too poignant (the biographical 'Brighton Beach' series) for me to really enjoy his recent works. Where is the writer who penned The Odd Couple or The Sunshine Boys or even Barefoot in the Park? The answer is ... he is here.
Before I began to read this, I wondered if perhaps what I had enjoyed about the Broadway performance was seeing John Ritter and Len Cariou and Henry Winkler sharing the stage. But no, what makes this play work is the writing.
The witiness, which covers a characters pain ... classic Simon ... is here. And yet the pain isn't too deeply imbedded, otherwise we'd have trouble really laughing (which has been my problem with the Brighton Beach plays).
If you've liked the earlier Neil Simon works, you will probably like this one, too. Worth reading. Worth seeing. Worth producing.
August 15, 2009
As a nod to my drama major days at UCI, I have a bunch of plays I'm trying to get through. Though they're short, I really have to concentrate while reading, so can't do them very often these days! This was a good Neil Simon play, though I do think the ending was a bit of a reach. (But it is a play, and Neil Simon likes you to feel good at the end.)
December 12, 2011
"I don't enjoy pain. I just like the pursuit of it." When I saw this play on Broadway a decade ago, I found it incredibly sharp and sophisticated. In the reading of it now, I still found it sharp and sophisticated, but I also found it to be a bit unrealistic. It's also quite funny that my memory of it wasn't as a comedy.
August 24, 2016
Not Simon's best work. Interesting, but didn't feel like the characters were developed enough, and lacking Simon's strong wit and clever humor. Not terrible, but there are better Simon plays out there for sure.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews